Basket of Fruit
by Crystal Night
Summary: Years have passed and they are no longer children playing with the hearts of rich young girls. It's now Haruhi's turn. Her boyish figure gone. Her dreams and goals in front of her. The only thing left was to sort out the feelings in her confused heart Hx?
1. Welcome Back

**Basket of Fruit**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

It had been 5 years since high school. It seemed so long ago and yet at the same time the memories were still as clear as if they had just happened moments before.

Haruhi looked down at the letter in her hand and then back up at the street sign in front of her. She appeared to be heading in the right direction, even if the directions in the letter had been a little cryptic to follow. According to them, the small café she was looking for would just be down the road.

She walked down the crowded sidewalk and enjoyed the many familiar sights and sounds of the city around her. Having spent the last several years in America studying at the Harvard School of Law, it was nice to finally be back in Japan. It was nice to finally be back home.

It had been thanks to her good grades, and she suspected her friends, that she had been given a full scholarship to any University of her choosing. Just last week she had passed her bar exam with flying colours, beating her late mother's exam score and coming out on top of her graduating class. She knew her mother would have been proud and her father was too. Haruhi could still hear her dad's excited voice at the news that his lovely daughter would soon be coming home.

Stopping at corner of the street, she waited for the crosswalk sign to change so she could cross. "Cat's Café... should be right across the street." She murmured to herself as she once again checked the name written in the letter before putting it back into her bag.

After they graduated from Ouron High, they had all gone their own ways. She had gone over seas, while Tamaki schooled with Kyouya in Japan. Hunny and Mori went to be school in the defense field to help in their family's businesses and Hikaru and Kaoru had decided to head over to Europe to learn more about fashion industry.

Haruhi shifted her bag higher on her shoulder and moved a long strand of hair from her eyes. Upon hearing of her return to Japan, it had been Tamaki who thought it would be a great time for the Host Club to get together for it's first reunion since graduation. It would be the first time in five years that everyone would gathered together in the same room and she was looking forward to seeing everyone again. Not that she hadn't seen anyone since she had left. No, there was no avoiding the random visits. Although as time went on and life asked more and more of the other hosts, the visits had turned to phone calls and then just the occasional email.

She had thought that going over seas to study would be peaceful and relaxing but she found herself far more lonely then she expected. Life without the Host Club and her dad just seemed dull. Yes, she had found them tiresome and a bother at times but they were her friends and it wasn't until she was apart from them that she discovered just how much they had meant to her and how much they are grown on her. Even when it felt like she was alone in the world, she knew that they would be waiting for her when she returned. Even if it might only be in spirit... They were all so successful now and held so much power. Like real princes hanging out with a peasant, she didn't hold any disillusions that they would be able to drop everything just to talk with her. She sighed.

The café was quite small with a pastel blue painted door and a silhouette of a cat painted on its narrow glass window. Tucked in between a hat shop and a fruit market, the quant little shop somehow still managed to have a little room out front for three small metal table and chairs which were currently fill of happy chatting customers. As she pushed the door open to the café and the little bell above the door rang, she had to admit that she was nervous… but only a little bit. After all, it had been so long since all the Host members had been together, some she hasn't seen since she had boarded the plane to America.

Haruhi was greeted with a warm smile from the café's greeter as she entered. "Welcome." The young girl in a pale blue maid costume chirped. It didn't surprise Haruhi at all that they would choose a maiden café to meet at, if anything she should have suspected it. She also had a feeling that it had been Tamaki's idea.

Haruhi smiled back at the greeter. "Hello," Her chocolate brown eyes moved about the people seated within the long room of the café. "I'm supposed to be meeting some people here..." She stated a little timidly, having not seen any of the other club members seated around the café.

"Oh!" The girl brightened up and glanced down at her notepad she had been clutching to her chest. "Are you part of the…Ootori, party?"

Some things just never changed, she mused. Kyouya, was ever the one in charge of all things planning. "Yes." The girl nodded then lead her through the tables to a door set at the very back of the café, passed the display counter filled with all the cakes and pastries and the few groups of happily chatting school girls. The greeter blushed as she informed her that they were all waiting upstairs on the second floor, just through the door. She told Haruhi that if they needed anything to ring the bell at the top of the steps and someone would come up.

Haruhi thanked the greeter and slowly opened the door. Taking a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her tummy she walked up the narrow stairs to the second floor. At the top of the stairs sat a white door with a large golden handle. The small gold plaque centered on the door read "V.I.P." So a maiden cafe with it's own private room? Maybe Kyouya had more of a hand in the choice of venue then she had first thought.

"Ok, This is it." Hand on the handle, she took a few deep breaths trying calm her now racing heart. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. Given, she hadn't seen some of the guys since high school but that shouldn't make her heart race so much. Was it just the excitement? She had been looking forward to this since she got the message a few days before moving back and now she was finally going to be able to see all her old friends again. She wonder how much things had changed and how much she had misses. She turned the golden handle on the door.

She let the door swing back and her eyes adjust to the sudden brightness coming in from the rooms large windows. Sitting at the table directly across from the door sat two figures. Their backs were too her and both seemed to be deep in discussion with each other with several pieces of china between them.

The man on the right was defiantly Tamaki. No doubting it. He was dressed in a white dress suit; his blond hair seemed shorter and neater then before. He talked in a quite but, none the less, animated tone with the man next to him who she knew to be none other then Kyouya himself. Figures, she smiled to herself. Those two were always together. Kyouya had let his black hair grow much longer since the last time they had seen each other. The low pony tail hung down the back of his well tailored black suit and she noted by the set of his shoulders that he was well aware of her entrance into the room. Slowly she walked closer to her long time friends.

Kyouya started to rise from his seat as she neared, causing Tamaki to give him a questioning look but he soon realized that they had another guest in the room jumped to his feet and turned to greet her. "Haruhi!" He turned to her with one of his bright smiles. Some things never change and her heart leaped at the sight of it after all these years. Her brown eyes moved to the darker of the two. Where Tamaki was the blazing sun, Kyouya was the cool moon and her heart leap again at his warm, welcoming smile.

She stopped short of the striking pair and gave them a small bow. "It's been a long time." She returned their happy smiles but suddenly felt a little unsure of what to do or say next. Seeing her hesitation, Tamaki opened his arms to her. Slowly Haruhi closed the distance and gave him a much overdo hug.

"It's good to have you back. I've missed you." He said into her hair, his eyes closed for a brief moment as he took in the light smell of her hair and the feel of her before releasing her.

She couldn't help the small blush that dusted her cheeks from the contact. "Thanks, Tamaki. I've missed you too." Haruhi then turned to Kyouya. Although not waiting with open arms, he did happily welcome the hug has she wrapped her arms around his waist for a brief moment. Which that affected him far more then he would have liked anyone else to have noticed.

"It's been too long." Kyouya agreed stepping back. He pushing his glasses back up his nose to hide his eyes and strengthen his tie carefully before pulling out a chair for Haruhi and gesturing for her to sit down.

Sitting, she watched them return back to their seats, her eyes moving between the two, but settling on Tamaki. "Is something wrong?" She asked, her head slightly tilted to the side.

The sound of her voice seemed to bring him back to his senses, his mouth snapping closed. She watched a bunch of different thoughts flow across his face before he seemed to find the one he was looking for. A slow smiled moved across his lips. "Haruhi… These years have been wonderful to you." He said at last.

"Yes." Kyouya nodded. "You look very lovely."

She blushed lightly at their compliments. 5 years was a long time. She had grown up, they all had. Her brown hair was below her shoulders in small waves and her once boyish figure was no more. She was happy that her once flat chest now sported a small pair of breasts. She fussed with the folds in her skirt. Since she had only just came back into town and had a business meeting later that night, she had worn a long black skirt and white blouse. She felt a little uncomfortable since she was used her jeans she had grown used to wearing daily during time in America.

"When is everyone else going to be coming?" She asked, changing the topic away from herself. She still wasn't used to men noticing her. After all, she had been all but invisible to the opposite sex throughout high school and then suddenly during her time overseas guys started to approach her. She still wasn't sure how to handle the attention, but given her time as a host she felt like she should have developed more of a knack for dealing with men but she tended to feel a little bit lost when it came to romance and love. Not that she had turned down all their approaches, she had had a few boyfriends during her time in university, they had never lasted very long and had ever been very serious. She also didn't like the distraction from her studies it tended to cause.

Kyouya looked down at his notebook sitting on the table in front of him, trying to keep his eyes off the beautiful woman next to her. For that was what she had turned into, a beautiful and he knew, a smart woman with a lot of wonderful potential. He had to admit to himself though that it was a little bit of a stock to see her and he regretted now not going to visit her like the others had. Now that didn't mean there had been no contact between the two. They had exchanged frequent emails and the occasional phone call when he had desired it but it wasn't the same as seeing her. He would have also been better prepared for the sight that greeted him. He never enjoyed being caught off guard. The hug hadn't helped either. Kyouya cleared his throat. "Well, they should have been here already but as you can see they are not." He sighed, one hand rubbing his forehead. He lifted his cell phone off the table and began to dial numbers.

Haruhi watched the Shadow King. She took note of his tired expression and the dark lines under his eyes that should not yet be seen on a man so young. He worked so hard and never seemed to let himself slow down. Even in all their messages to each other, she could also hear the under note of stress. The only times she had seen him relax is guard had been during their time in the club but even those moments had been rare.

"Haruhi, how was your flight? You just returned correct?" Tamaki rested his cheek in the palm of his hand, leaning closer to her.

He was still, if not more, striking as before. Haruhi decided as she turned her brown eyes to Tamaki. His eyes were still a soft violet blue that could steal many hearts and he still had a warm air to him. His face was more defined and she had heard he had taken up the modeling job from time to time.

She nodded. "Yes, I got back two days ago. I wasn't sure -" Interrupted, she thanked the server who set down a cup in front of her and replaced their teapot with a fresh one. Tamaki flashed the server a bright smile and dismissed her before turning back to quickly filled Haruhi's cup.

He seemed much quieter then before and a lot more reserved but she mused that they had all grown up or maybe something was on his mind or after all this time he didn't know what to say to her. It had been about four years since they had seen each other and even then calls between them at been few and far between. She often wondered what had changed to cause him to be so distant but she had never had a chance to ask him and time seemed to move so fast that she hadn't even realized that sometimes months would pasts without a word between them. She lifted her cup to her lips and carefully blew on the warm nectar inside. "So, Tamaki, what have you been up to?"

He was having a hard time concentrating on her words. He had been watching her movements and her full lips. In fact, he was almost not sure how to act. This creature that sat before him actually made him nervous. Haruhi had grown so much since they had last seen each other.

"Tamaki?"

He jumped, realizing that he had not been paying attention. He flashed her a quick smile and leaned back in his chair, hoping she hadn't noticed. "Well, after high school, I went to college for business and now I'm currently working for my father, managing some of our smaller but growing companies."

"Oh, I'm happy to hear that." It had saddened her that they had lost contact over the years. It was not like she hadn't tried to keep in close contact with Tamaki. Between school and their lives, seems like they had slowly moved apart. "So he did name you successor?" She asked without thinking, realizing that maybe it wasn't such a good question to ask but she had been dying to know, since last they talked Tamaki had hinted that his father was leaning towards a decision.

He paused a moment moment before answering. "Yes, he did." His smile was true and she let out the breath she had been holding. Haruhi knew it had meant a lot to him to finally be recognized by his father and she was happy he was finally able to have that acceptance that he had always wanted.

Kyouya snapped his cell phone closed and set it back down onto the table. Haruhi looked over with a questioning look but he kept his eyes hidden behind his glasses. "Haninozuka and Morinozuka should be here shortly. Seems that a security meeting held them longer then they had expected."

"Security meeting? Did something happen?" Haruhi asked, setting her cup back down. The Haninozuka family all but ran the nation's military. Their troops and operatives were the best and were always highly desired. They also had some of the best rescue and disaster relief teams in the world. If something happened in Japan, they were normally the first to be called.

When she thought of the collection of men she had befriended during her time in the host club, she sometimes thought she was no more then a character in a book. She didn't belong with these men. So rich and so powerful. What was she? Poor. A commoner as they had titled her throughout high school but it seemed that for that very reason was why like liked her so much. She wasn't like them and they enjoyed that, but even still, she was lucky these powerful men were some of her best friends and not her enemy. She shivered at the thought and pitied those who got on their bad sides.

Tamaki shrugged. "I'm sure it was nothing. Besides it's not like they would be able to tell us even if it was." He laughed. "National security and all." He waved his hand like it was no big deal and returned to drinking his tea.

The door was opened with a little more force then needed, causing it to bounce back into the door jam with a bang and Haruhi to jump a little in her seat. The small group at the table to turn at the noise to see a very broad and wide back of a black suit move slowly into the room.

It was Mori holding a very long box. Hunny, smiled at the group from the other side of the long package. "Welcome back!" He called cheerfully over at Haruhi as he helped Mori place the large box on a near by table.

Hunny had grown taller. Though still much shorter then the other men. He was at least taller then herself now. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and black dress pants. His blond hair, like Tamaki's, was cut short. It was a little odd to see him... looking so grown up.

Relieved of his burden, Mori smiled and nodded in greeting. To Haruhi he seemed to have changed little over the last years. His black hair was still short and his suit was fitting perfectly to his large frame. Even the addition of a pair of black glasses on the top of his head did little to hide the amount of raw strength he processed but the warm look in his eyes showed her how happy he was to see her again.

Tamaki jumped from his chair to see what they had brought, followed by Haruhi and Kyouya. "Let me guess." Kyouya looking down at the box.

The smaller blond smiled. "Yep. It is! But first.." Hunny wrapped his arms around Haruhi and gave her a big hug. "It's been far too long, Haruhi." It took her a moment to hug him back although he had come to visit her during her time away it was still felt a little weird to hug him now that he was so much taller but she happily returned it. Her chin rested easily on his shoulder as he tightened the hug slightly before pulling back from her a little, not fully releasing his hold.

"Wow, you've really grown." She laughed lightly. She even had to look up a little to meet his bright blue eyes. Hunny beamed a bright smile and found herself grinning back just as brightly. "I have missed you guys."

With one last quick hug he let her go and spun her towards his much larger cousin. She stumbled a little but Mori's large hand easily steaded her. His fingers felt soft against the bare skin on her arm. She smiled shyly as she wrapped her arms around his wide waist and gave him a hug also.

Mori bowed his large frame as he wrapped his arms around the smaller body against him. He did his best to not notice how nice she felt against him or how sweet she smelled. He did admit to himself that he had missed her while she had been gone and was happy to see her again.

There was a commotion coming up the stairs as Mori released her from his hug. Two men burst through the door panting, having raced each other up the stairs. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin. Their eyes moved through the crowd and signaled out the only female of the group. "Haruhi!" Both smiled and rushed forward. Together they hugged her tightly, even lifting her feet off the floor with the force of their hug. She found herself laughing with the joy of seeing them all again. Together the twins pressing their cheeks to either of hers before both giving her a soft kiss in greeting, something they had picked up along their travels.

Out of everyone in the group, it had been the twins that she had seen the most of. Their quest for the best fashions of the world often landed them in America and they always made sure that they set time aside to come see her.

Tamaki frown deepened. '_Not fair._' He mouthed and crosses his arms, looking away from them. Why wasn't he allowed to give her a kiss also? Wait.. was he?

Kyouya only rolled his eyes at his long time friend, knowing all too well what he was thinking.

The brothers pulled back a little but still kept her tightly between them. "Haruhi, you look…" Hikaru started.

"So lovely." Kaoru finished with a smile.

She couldn't help by smile at the twins. "Same to both of you." She looked between the two. Their orange hair was much longer, with a surprising amount of wave to it. They had left it loose over top of their cotton sweaters and torn jeans. Still mirror images of each other, they looked like models or even big name actors. She remember seeing them in a fashion magazine once and had surprised at how attractive they both were. Or maybe she was only just noticing it now that she was older.

At the sound of Kyouya's cough she realized that she had been staring. The twins smirked, giving her a sidelong glance with their golden cat eyes.

"Haruhi, I got something for us!" Hunny excitedly started to open the big box he had brought up.

She tore he gaze from the men around her and looked over at the package. "Let me guess…"

The box fell open to display a very large cake. On it written in icing was _'Welcome_ _back,_ _Haruhi!'_ with lots of little hearts and stars around it.

The guys moved to stand behind the cake, all smiling.

Tamaki spread his hands. "Welcome to the first reunion of the Host Club." He held out a single red rose to her. She looked up from the offered rose and met his eyes.

It was as if she was opening the doors to the third music room all over again.

* * *

Please R&R and let me know what you think!


	2. Sweet Things

**Basket of Fruit  
**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

The tables and chairs were shuffled about so that everyone would be able to sit together. New tea had been served and the cake had been cut and placed onto small blue and while china plates brought up from the kitchen.

During the moving about, Haruhi ended up in the middle of the twins, who sat smuggle on either side. Beside Hikaru sat Hunny and Moria. Kyouya was next to Kaoru and last but not least was Tamaki.

Tamaki glared at the twins across from him before lonely stirring more milk into his cup of tea with downcast eyes. He had wanted to sit next to Haruhi, as leader of the host club it was only right. So how had he ended up so far away? He frowned.

Hunny happily ate his second piece of cake. Satisfied for the moment, he put down his fork and looked about the group. "It's so nice to be all back together. It's been lonely..." Everyone nodded agreeably.

Kaoru smiled at Haruhi, resting his face against his hand. His hair fell pasted his eyes. "So Haruhi, were have you been staying?"

On her other side, Hikaru mirrored his brother. "Are you staying with your father?"

She took a small bit out of the strawberry on her fork and looked between the two. "Yes but only until I can find my own apartment." Mori dropped a few more strawberries onto her place. "Thank you." She flashed him a brief smiled that caught the larger man a little off guard.

Huni smiled at his cousin knowing that he had missed their friend over the last few years and was a little sorry that they hadn't been able to see her more. Their work had often keep them far busier then he would have liked and Takashi was never one to talk much on the phone. He wondered for a moment how much contact with Haruhi his cousin had had over the years.

Kyouya looked up from his phone. "Do you have an area in mind yet?"

Popping the rest of the small red fruit into her month she thought for a moment. "Well someplace close to work would be nice."

"Work?" Tamaki jumped in. "A maiden like you should not need to work, more or less live on her own. What if something happened to you?" He slammed his fist down, cause her and the cups to jump a little. The twins pressed their shoulders against hers in reassurance but sent a glare over to their blond friend.

"Haruhi can protect herself." Hikaru and Kaoru said together. "She's been on her own these last years always." - "And she is just fine."

Tamaki looked over at Kyouya with pleading eyes.

Kyouya glanced over at Haruhi before adjusting his glasses. "She will be fine on her own, she has been living on her own in another country for several years now. She's not a helpless child." Tamaki slouched back down into his chair and Haruhi sent him a grateful smile. "I am curious though, you've already arranged a job? I haven't heard your name mentioned in any new hiring forms from several of our firms."

"Well… I don't have a job yet." She admitted picking at her cake with her fork. "But I have a interview in a few hours." She said hopefully. "I think I have a good shot of it."

"Ohhh…" The twins loom around her to see each other. "An interview."

"Where?" Kaoru asked.

She thought for a moment but couldn't remember the name of the firm. She did however have all the information in her bag. Which she seemed to have misplaced in the shuffle. Looking under the table, she found it just under her chair. Hikaru was forced to move his chair back a little so that she could pull her bag up onto the table. Tamaki raised an eyebrow at the size of it but didn't say anything. It wasn't that big, she just liked something big enough to hold more then just her wallet and lipstick.

She pulled out a business card from her wallet. "S&W Law office." She flipped the card over to read the address on the back. Hikaru slipped the card out her hand. "Hey." She protested.

"4pm, room 203." He looked back at the front of the card. "This is just down the road from one of our stores."

"You have a store?" She asked trying to get the card back with little success.

"Don't you remember?" Kyouya leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his well tailored suit. "Their mother owns a major fashion line." He picked the card from Hikaru's hand and took a quick look at it before putting it back onto the table. It was a very small law firm and not even one of the ones owned by his family. He wondered why she was even considering such a small company so beneath her skills.

Kaoru picked up the card from the table as Haruhi went to reach for it. "We can drop you off there later if you like." He offered sweetly.

Hikaru nodded. "We need to head back to the office soon anyways. Can't play all day."

Haruhi looked between the two. "Are you sure-"

"No, I refuse." Tamaki jumped in.

Everyone's eyes turned to him.

"I will not let two demons." His finger moved from one twin to the other. "Be left alone with my sweet and innocent Haruhi." He placed his hand on his hips, staring the boys down.

The brothers grinned slyly. "Are you sure she is really that innocent?" They asked. Haruhi blushed lightly and Tamaki's jew dropped a little.

Sensing the coming outburst and wanting to move past the brothers' comment, Haruhi just smiled. "Thank you, I'd really love a ride. I'm still having a little bit of trouble finding my way around."

Both twins brushed their hair back over their shoulders and smirked at Tamaki in triumph who was still frowning over their whole innocent comment.

Kyouya flipped open and closed his phone idly. "S&W Law? I have heard of them." Haruhi turned her attention to Kyouya. "Not the biggest firm around. You would be much better off offering your skills to a larger company and not some little no name law firm." He comment bluntly.

Haruhi picked up the small card and tucked it into her bag. "Even so, it's not like I'm doing this for the money." She said a little hurt at the lack of support. She was well aware that if she had asked that Kyouya would have arranged a job for her, but she wanted to do this on her own.

A phone started to ring. Everyone look at each other but it was Mori who reached for the phone in his front pocket.

"Hello…? Mmm…Ok…Bye." He closed the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

Hunny had stopped eating his cake, and waited his cousin.

Mori stood and leaned down to whisper something in his cousin's ear, to which Hunny nodded, before rising up from his chair. "Work." He replied to their questing looks. As he walked around the table and placed a hand on Haruhi's shoulder. "Welcome back." He said simply before heading to the door.

"It was nice seeing you again." Haruhi called after him.

Mori paused in the doorway, giving her a nod before leaving the room.

Kyouya listened to Mori's heavy footsteps moving down the stairs a moment before asking. "Is he still your bodyguard?" He turned to Hunny.

Hunny moved his empty plate away from himself and brushed a few crumbs from his shirt. "No, not officially. However I know he will always been around to protect me if needed." He smiled sadly. "Though he's been a little distracted."

Hikaru took a sip of his tea. "What do you mean?"

Hunny folded his hands on the table in front of him. A very mature gesture and one Haruhi was unfamiliar with associating with the small sweet Hunny. "He's been seeing this girl for the last several months."

"What? Mori's has a girlfriend?" Tamaki looked shocked.

The shorter man nodded. "Yes, I think it is getting quite serious." He stirred his tea. "It's not like he's neglecting his work but I feel that I should give him more time to himself. Even so, he still comes with me whenever he can."

"Just like before." Haruhi nodded. "He sees you like a younger brother.

Hunny laughed. "I fear sometimes he does."

She couldn't help but still see his younger self in that happy smile.

Kaoru drummed his fingers on the table. "Do you not like his girlfriend?" He asked.

Hunny paused for a moment. "No, not really."

Kyouya rose an elegant eyebrow at the smaller man. "Now that is a surprise."

She frowned. "Why not?" She asked.

Hunny just shook his head. "I want to approve of his choice and there is nothing in her background to be weary of, however I find that I simply cannot like her." He sighed. "I think that is why Mori doesn't bring her around me often. I think he knows I don't like her."

Everyone was quite for a moment. Tamaki was the first to break the uneasy silence. "More cake?" He offered the smaller blond who eagerly accepted with a large smile.

"I see that you still love your sweet at least." Haruhi commented as she watched him take a very large forkful of cake and shoved it into his mouth.

His hand stilled for a moment and he licked his lips. "Haru-chan, just let me know if you want anything sweet, okay?" He offered in his usual sweet tone.

"To think." Kyouya brushed a strand of dark hair from his eyes. "Our little Hunny here is powerful enough to be a war lord, and yet he buys bakeries."

Haruhi laughed lightly of the thought.

"Ooohhhhh…" Tamaki sighed with a cat like smile on his lips.

"What is it?" She blinked.

Both the twins laughed and placed their arms across her shoulders. "Its just that you have a nice laugh."

She blushed.

Everyone laughed again at her embarrassment and continued to tease her while catching up on the events in each other's lives that they had missed out. She heard about Tamaki breaking his arm two years back when he tripped on a flight of steps. He played it up, saying he could have died but the twins pointed out that he only fell three steps and they all had a good laugh. The twins told her about the places they had been and the sights they had seen. Kyouya talked about several new business ventures he was making and the profits he had forecast for each. Hunny talked about the last tournament he was in and how well everyone else tried, then about the large cake he had eaten to celebrate.

"Oh, its time already?" Haruhi frowned as she looked down at her watch. Grabbing her bag, she rose from her chair. "I'm sorry guys but I have to get going. I don't want to be late."

"We'll drive!" The twins jumped up onto their feet, taking hold of her arms.

"No, I'll take her. You might defile her with your grabby sneaky hands." Tamaki moved around the table and pulled Haruhi away from the twins.

"And you wont?" Haruhi looked up at the blond prince.

The twins laughed at his hurt expression.

"Oh, you hurt me so. To think you believe that I am that low of a man. I would never so forcefully ruin your perfect and pure flower." He wrapper his hands over hers and looked dreamily into her eyes.

She easily met his eyes back, unmoved by his words. "If I don't go, I might be late for my interview." Haruhi took back her hands and reached for her bag to find it missing from the table. "Wait, where did it go? My bag was just here." She leaned down, brushing back the hair from her face as she glance under the table.

The twins passed a look at each other as they stood behind her and smiled.

Tamaki stepped in front of them, blocking their view of Haruhi's behind as she continued to look for her 'misplaced' bag.

To the side Kyouya just shook his head. "We should get together again soon. If you will but give my some dates, I'll be happy to make all the arrangements."

She pulled her bag out from under the table again. "Ok, I still have your cell phone number. I'll give you a call later then when I know what's going on."

Kyouya nodded.

"What about me?" Tamaki pointed to himself. "Do I get a call too?"

"We'll have to see." She turned and leaned down to hug Hunny. "It was nice seeing you again."

He smiles and gave her a small wave as she and the twins left the V.I.P room.

From the window the men watched as Haruhi slipped into the back of the twins yellow sports car.

Tamaki sat down with a sigh. "Wow…She's so…"

"I think the word you are looking for is feminine." Kyouya brushed his ponytail back over his shoulder.

"But she's still the same Haruhi as before." Hunny packed the rest of the cake up. "But it still hard to see her as a lawyer."

The prince nodded his head. "To see her all forceful and in comment of the court." His mind started to wonder off.

"Well, she has the schooling for it but that does not mean she will be strong enough to stand on her own in court." Kyouya placed his notebook and a few other papers back into his briefcase that had been sitting under his chair.

Hunny smiled. "I think she will be fine. We've put her through worse." They laughed but Tamaki was feeling distracted. Something felt different and he didn't know what it was.

As the others left, a young server came up stairs. "Oh!" She blushed. "I am sorry sir, but I thought you had all left. I did not mean to disturb you." She began to back out of the room.

He turned and swooped over to her. "Oh, do not worry, sweet maiden. You have not intruded, indeed you have brightened this gloomy mans heart with your very concern." He smiles, looking deep into her eyes.

The young girl blushed and swooned on her feet.

-oOoOoOoOo-

Haruhi leaned back and looked out at the other passing cars, trying to slow the butterflies in her tummy.

She glanced towards the front of the car. Even though the music was very loud, she could see their months moving as they talked. The wind from the open windows blew at their long hair.

Suddenly the music dimmed.

"Haruhi, lets play a game?" They called back to her.

She looked at them, slightly startled. "A Game?"

"Which is Hikaru!" They said together.

The car rolled to a stop in front of an office building and both twins turned about in their seats, smiling at her. "To easy, the one driving the car is Hikaru." She leaned forward and hugged them both in turn. "I'll call you later."

"Good luck!" They called as she slipped out from the car.

They watched as she fussed with her skirt a little before walking up the stairs and into the glass lobby of the office building.

The brother's looked at each other with hurt in their eyes. "Wrong…." They said together with a sigh.

Kaoru leaned back in the driver's seat and covered his eyes with one hand, Hikaru mirrored his brother on the passenger side. "She's never gotten it wrong…" Kaoru glanced over at his twin through his figures.

Hikaru just turned his head. "Well, it's been a long time… we've all have grown. Maybe she was nervous. Let's just forget it and go."

* * *

Please R&R!


	3. Open House

**Basket of Fruit **

**Chapter 3**

* * *

She stepped back out of the office building an hour later, sighing to herself. "I don't think that went so well…" She glanced back over her shoulder at the office building and straightened her shoulders. '_Don't think like that, have hope_.' She focused a small smile on her face and started to walk towards the bus stop.

As she walked her mind wondered back to the gathering before.

She was very happy to see them all again. It had been so long since she had seem some of them. It was sad that they had lost touch with each other over the years but it felt nice to everyone was back together again. She was surprised at how much some of them had changed too. Tamaki was still the same hopeless prince he had been during high school but he seemed to be a lot more reserved at times. Even Mori having a steady girlfriend came at a bit of a shock. Haruhi was sure all the men had been dating from time to time but Mori was always so quite and seemed so content. It felt a little weird to picture him with anyone other then Hunny.

She found the bus stop empty and sat down on the only available bench, glancing at her watch. '_Dad should have dinner done by the time I get home_.' She thought. She loved her dad, but his cooking left something to be desired. She briefly wondered if maybe she could convince him to order in tonight or to let her cook something. It would be nice, like old times.

The bus's brakes made an awful noise as it came to a stop in front of her. Haruhi dropped some change into the coin collector and found a seat just behind the driver, keeping her bag in her lap.

None of her friends would be caught in a bus she mused. They all had their own cars, drivers, private plane and who knows what else. She didn't even have a bus pass. The thought made her a little sad and even envious but she pushed it away. It was going to take some time to get back on her own two feet again. Moving between countries wasn't easy. She didn't have a place to live of her own right now, let alone a job or even a cell phone. These were things that the guys never had to worry about. Their worries were more if they should buy another summer home or a bigger boat.

Haruhi watched the city go by out the window and let her mind move at it's own pace. She felt, that although she knew them, she had no right to know them. She just didn't belong around them yet nothing would change that. Maybe it was because it had been so long, that she had forgotten what it had been like to be the token poor commoner in the group. After all during university, she had been equals with almost everyone she knew, something that she had often enjoyed and knew she was going to miss. '_Just give it time_.' She assured herself. Things felt a little out of place right now but everything would work out soon enough.

By the time she got home, it was a little later then she had thought. Her dad didn't seem to notice.

"Welcome back Haruhi!" He rushed to hugged her tightly.

She returned the hug and kissed his stubbled cheek. "Hello, Dad."

"Come, come, come, come." He pulled her over to the dinner table and sat her down. "Now, how was your day? And I want all the details." He ducked out of the room, coming back a moment later with their dinner. He pushed her over a cup of tea and a plate with some rice and veggies. "Ok, spill the beans. How are the guys doing?"

Her father, always the nosey girlfriend… of sorts. She always found herself smiling. After all, when her mother had passed it had been up to her dad to fill both roles in her life. Though most dads would never go so far as to cross dressing to support their families. Her dad had always been a little special in that since but she loved him none the less.

"The interview went really well." She lied. She was sure she wasn't going to get the job but he didn't need to know that. "They are going to call me in a few days to let me know if I got the job or not." She took a bit out of one of the small carrot on her plate.

"Oh, I don't want to hear about that, how are the boys?" He smiled brightly, changing the topic.

She sighed. '_Figures, I'm struggling to find a job and he wants to know if the guys are just as attractive as ever._' She eyed her father for a moment. It had been his day off. Even if she hadn't been told so, the 5 o'clock shadow would have been enough to tell her he had been lazing around. His long red was tied back into a high ponytail and he was dressed in a loose shirt and shorts.

"They haven't changed at all." She hoped he wouldn't ask any more questions on that topic. She still had a lot to take in after seeing the guys again after so long. "So how was work?" Better change the topic and her dad either didn't notice or mind but instead happily rambled on about his dad off and the goings on at work that week. Contently she finished her meal and listened to her father talk. It was nice to be home.

-oOoOoOoOo-

The next morning she was up early making breakfast for her dad before he had to take off to work. He had been doing well over the last few years and had moved from show "girl" to co-manager. He even still managed to keep house without her around. Something she had been worried about when she left for school.

She finished washing the dishes and clearing the table. She looked around the apartment for something else to do. She just wasn't used to having so much free time. Well she did enjoy it for the first few days, she had to get everything back into order.

Seeing the newspaper on the table she decided that she might has well get to work looking for her own apartment and another job opening while she was at it. She had worked during school to give her some extra pocket money and had been able to save up enough for a few months rent. Even if she didn't have a job at the moment, she would soon so she wasn't stressed over that at lease.

She flipped through the newspaper and found the classifieds. "Let's see… Hmmm…."

She spent about an hour going through the paper, calling and noting down information about the available units. In the end she only found one worth going to see that was also in her price range.

She slipped on her shoes and picked her up her bag, making sure to lock the door on her way out. She turned from the door and walked into something.

Warm hands grabber she shoulders before she could fall back.

"Haruhi, are you alright?" The object asked in a deep voice.

Righting herself back onto her feet and picking up her dropped bag, she looked up. "Kyouya! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there" She blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected to see any of them today, mush less run into one this early in the morning.

He pushed his glasses back up his nose and straightened his blue tie. "I guessed as much when you failed to stop."

She blushed. "Wh-what brings you here?" Haruhi asked as she straightened her own cloths more of something to do as she waited for her face to cool.

He stepped to the side so she could walk past him along the hall. "I was going to show you a few apartments that I think might be to your liking."

She paused and looked over her shoulder. That was… oddly nice of Kyouya and very unlike him. "What's the catch?"

"Catch?" He easily met her eyes.

Whatever he was thinking, his eyes showed no hint to it. He never did anything unless it was in his favor or for profit but since she was going to go out to look at a places today anyways that she might as well go along with it. "Okay, I'll see some of the places you picked out." He flashed her a winning smile. "As long as we stop by this one too." She held out the folded newspaper with a big red circle around the apartment she wanted to do see.

He took the paper from her hand. Looking at the address. "Deal." He walked past her and towards the waiting limo. A group of on lookers has gathered in the street. They whispered about the rich guy and why he was here of all places. She noticed more then just a few girls swooning over Kyouya as he moved towards the vehicle.

The driver held the door open for the pair to slide into the back seat. The door closed with a dull thud, casting them into the shadows of the limo's back seat.

'_Now what…_' She glanced over at Kyouya sitting across from her talking over his shoulder to the driver.

"Where are we going to head first?" She asked, settling herself for the ride. She had decided to dress much more simple then the other day, since she only had errands to do and hadn't known she would be spending her time being escorted around the city in a limo. So dressed in a pair of fitted jeans and a simple yellow tank top, she felt a little under dressed as Kyouya turned his eyes to her.

"We will go to the one you picked out first." He answered back picking up his laptop off the seat next to him. The sound of his long finger moving with over the keys filled the silent car. She desperately wished for some music or at least for more of a conversation.

Since it seemed like Kyouya wasn't going to be the one to lead the decussion, she figured she would start it. "How has your businesses been doing?" That should work with getting the discussion going. She smiled to herself.

He looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "Better then anyone every thought. We've been buying many smaller business, not just the larger ones. It seems collectively, they bring in just as much profit as the bigger businesses at a fraction of the running cost." His eyes had returned back to his computer screen.

"Well that is good to hear."

"How did your interview go yesterday?" He surprised her by asking.

She fussed with the her bag a little. "Oh…Well I don't think it went to well. They seem to be looking for someone with more experience then I can offer." She frowned. "It's hard to get started but I just need to keep trying!"

Kyouya nodded. "If you like, I can offer you a position as a law consultant. Seems as we grow we need more and more defense against oppositions." He lowered the top of his laptop, leaning back in his seat and met her eyes.

The look said everything, profit and a challenge. Kyouya could use her and therefor he wanted her. Like a cat playing with as mouse. Haruhi shook her head. "No, I want to do this on my own." She said firmly.

He shrugged his shoulders. "There is nothing wrong with taking the help offered to you. It doesn't make you weak." He closed his laptop fully and set it back onto the seat next to him.

She looked at him. "But I-"

He raised a hand. "A job offer is not help. There is a open position and it's your choice whether or not you wish to take it. As for the job itself, it would be up to you whether or not you… sink or swim?" He folded his hands into his lap and watched her.

She wanted to do this one her own, she didn't need handout from her friends. Nothing was unreachable for them, they didn't understand how it felt to truly earn something on their own. If she took the easy way out she wouldn't feel right.

The car rolled to a stop.

"We are here." Kyouya opened the door and slid out. He leaned back into the car before she could climb out. "If it wasn't me offering, you would have accepted the offer on the spot."

She realized that he was right. She met his dark eyes but dropped the eye contact when she noticed the emotions moving deep within them. They had lost the hard calculating look from before and were now filled with warmth. Her heart fluttered for a moment. Deciding that she must have mistaken the look, she did took his offered hand but that didn't change the fact that he had been right. With Kyouya, everything had strings.

He helped her out of the car and out into the street. A group of young high school girls were stopped next the street corner. They commented jealously. "How did _sshhee _get a man like him?" - "Yeah." - "No fair." - "Maybe she's a hooker or something." The group laughed.

She wished she hadn't heard them and that they would go away but in their own way, they were right. She had no right to be with these men but she couldn't help who she was friends with. She straightened her shoulders and stood a little taller.

Though she had gone to a high class University over in the US. The environment has been very laid back. Most of the student attending had put all their money into paying for the classes that they lived in lower class areas or in student housing. She had gotten used to being around people like herself. She knew that she didn't have to wealth or breeding to fit in with the upper crust of society. She just wanted to be herself.

Kyouya noticed the change in her stance and smirked, having also heard the rude comments of the younger girls, but as expected she rose about them. "Haruhi?" Kyouya called her name to get her attention.

In all the commotion from the gathering on the street the landlord had come out to investigate.

They walked over together and introduced themselves and that she was interested at looking at the room that was offered in the paper.

The aging man eyed Kyouya, his suit and the large car parked in the driveway. "This way." He led them around the building and up a flight of steps.

Looking back, Haruhi wasn't surprised to see more people out in the street or looking out the window. She sighed. "How do you get them not to flock when you go out?" Haruhi asked in a whisper so that their tour guild would not hear.

He glanced at her. "If I leave the car behind, no one would notice me." He shrugged. "If it makes you unhappy I can have my driver leave till we are done."

"No, you don't have to do that." She assured him. She didn't bother her that much... just made her a little uncomfortable.

His eyes stayed on her. He knew she was uncomfortable with the whole wealth and society thing. The only reason she had been able to fit in during school had been because she had the protection and friendship of the Host Club. If things had turned out differently and she had revealed her real gender from the start…things might not have been so easy for her. Kyouya would have almost guaranteed it. Money was power in this world and many a person with its power was dangerous. More then once had he heard girls talking around the halls of how they disliked said person and their daddy had ruined their lives in one way or another.

He didn't want that to happen to Haruhi. Like the other men in the group, he felt a strange attachment for the girl. He wanted to make sure she was taken care of and safe. Even if she herself didn't know how much they cared. It was hard for them though, watching her struggle when it would be so easy for them to just give her a helping hand. He did however, much admired her strength and drive to work for what she wanted. Kyouya was sure it was one of the many reasons he did enjoy her company so much. It was nice to be around someone who worked as hard as he did and enjoyed the challenge.

He watched from the door way as she moved about the room excitedly. Calling for him to look at one thing or another. He smiled. Haruhi was something that all the money in the world would not be able to buy. More jeans like the tight fitting ones she was wearing, he could buy more of.

* * *

Please R&R!


	4. Shopping Center

**Basket of Fruit **

**Chapter 4**

* * *

In the end, the day had gone by a lot smoother then she had thought it would. The other apartments Kyouya had picked were quite nice. She had been surprised that they had also been within her price range. According to Kyouya, it was just a matter of keeping an eye open for good deals and knowing where to look.

She had really liked one of the later apartments they had seen. It was close to the buses and subways. Nice building and a short walk to the market. It also had a secure entrance into the building. Something that was quite rare with lower class housing. Kyouya pointed out that this building would be safer and that it would cause her father less worried. Haruhi also thought it would make her friends feel better too, but she kept that to herself.

She liked the place, but decided to sleep on it before coming to any final decisions in the morning.

She was in the middle of making breakfast when someone started the knock on the door. "I wonder who that could be..." She brushed her hands on her cooking apron and answered the door.

"Delivery!" Came the sing song voice of Tamaki as he strolled past her into the apartment, his arms full of packages. He moved into the living room and placed them onto the table, knocking some of the dishes Haruhi had laid out for breakfast off the table. He turned with a flourish and a smile.

Haruhi eyed the packages, the dishes now on the floor and then the blond prince. She sighed. "What's all this about?" She asked.

"It's breakfast. I figured since you have a long day ahead of you that we should have a nice meal first before we get going." He turned and began to pulling out different take-out dishes.

"But I-"

"Nope, no need to thank me. I'd do anything to help my Haruhi." He continued to set up the table.

She let out a defeated sigh and went back into the kitchen. He had brought enough food to feed at least ten people, what a waste. She signed and turned off the burners on the stove. No reason to keep cooking, she decided and started to put items back into the fridge. She also still needed to make some lunch for her dad to take to work. "Oh no, dad."

A large slam in the other room let her know that her dad was awake and had found Tamaki. She carefully looked into the other room to find Tamaki was sulking in a corner and her dad calmly eating from one of the take out dishes. "Good morning, Dad." He grunted in reply. "Tamaki, why are you here again?" She sat down at the table next to her dad, taking a look into one of the takeout boxes. She would worry about make lunch and the half-cooked remains of breakfast a little later.

Tamaki glanced over his shoulder. Seeing her father's eyes on the meal and not him he decided it was alright if he moved from his corner and back to the table. Tamaki sat down next to warily Haruhi, keeping a close eye on her father. "Well... I thought today we could go looking for an apartment and then lunch and then a evening on the town. I know this really nice restaurant downtown that you just have to come to." He smiled happily as he thought over his plans for the day. He had found these really great apartments that were close to his and much nicer then anything she would be able to get on her own. He had worked out a deal with the landlord that they would only charge Haruhi so much a month and he could easily cover the rest so she didn't even need to worry about the cost! Then they would have lunch to celebrate and after he wanted to take her shopping, dress her up really nice and go and have a nice romantic dinner for two. All candle light and wine.

"I'm sorry, Tamaki, but I already found a place to live." She carefully sampled one of the dishes. "Mmmm, this is good."

Crushed. He felt is vision of the perfect day with Haruhi fall apart. "Whhhaattt? When? But I thought." He frowned.

Haruhi poured a cup of tea for herself, her dad and the unhappy prince and took a slow sip. "Kyouya came by yesterday and took me out to see a few places. I found found one that I really like and just have to call them."

"Kyouya…." He clenched his fist in anger. "How dear he be one step ahead of my master plan."

"Master plan?" Haruhi questioned, her head titling to the side as she studied Tamaki. His ideas normally meant trouble.

"See you later, Sweetie." Her father leaned over and kissed her cheek before going to get his shoes.

"Oh, I'll see you later dad." She got up and followed her father over to the front hall. "Oh I still haven't made your lunch yet, dad!" With Tamaki showing up, it had thrown her for a bit of a loop.

Her dad just smiled and told her not to worry about it today. After saying their goodbyes for the day she sat back next to Tamaki. Frowning slightly and wondered if she should still make her dad a launch and bring it to him a little later.

Tamaki clapped his hands together, causing Haruhi to jump. "Well, since I can't take you out to go looking for houses… and since I'm here, why not go out for lunch and an afternoon of shopping!" He excited grabbed her hands and pulled her to the door.

She tried to protest, glancing over her shoulder at the mountain of takeout dishes still on the table. "But I just-"

"No time, we have lots to do!" He put on his shoes and waited for her.

"But we just had breakfast." She really wanted to clean the table before going out.

"Oh…" He rubbed his chin as he thought. "Then its shopping first!"

Outside, another mob had gathered around Tamaki's very nice red sports car convertible. With all her friends stopping by, they were starting to receive lots of questioning stares from their neighbors. Tamaki walked around the car and smiled as he opened the door for her to get in. Very much aware of everyone watching her, she moved quickly to get into the car.

She placed her bag onto the floor of the car and dug around for a hair tie. If she left her hair loose then it was going to get tangled during the drive and she didn't have a brush on her.

Tamaki slid into the driver's side and turned the key in the ignition. "Ready?"

"Almost...There we go. Ready" She ran her hands back to smooth down her hair but Tamaki stopped her with a light touch on the arm.

"Don't do that… You look so nice with your long hair down." Something moved within his eyes. Haruhi wasn't sure what it was… She had never quite seen that look in his eyes before. She reached up to take out the tie in her hair but let her hands fall back to her lap. Best to still leave it up for now, she could take the tie out once they got to where they were going.

Tamaki turned his eyes to the road and pulled out onto the street.

Haruhi watched him as he leaned back with one arm across the seats, a small content smile on his face. The drive was almost in complete contrast to how it had felt in the limo with Kyouya. She didn't feel like they needed to talk. The radio played some dance music. She found herself tapping her foot to the music.

She had to admit that it was at least a wonderful day. The bright sun warmed her skin as they drove and the soft wind felt nice on her face. Haruhi was disappointed when they pulled into the under ground packing of the mall. The cooler damp air making her wish to be back out in the sun.

They cruised the mall for several hours. Going in and out of many different stores from high class brand names to discount stores. Somehow Haruhi had manager to keep Tamaki from using her as his own personal dress up doll, even if he hinted for her to try some cloths on from the high end department stores. Most of the things he wanted her to try were cloths that she could never afford to buy on her own. A few times she had caved and tired on one of the more simple dresses or outfits he had shown her but each time had to argue with him not to buy it. He would pout, saying that she looked so nice in them he couldn't help himself. She sat down heavily on a metal chair next to the water fountain in the food court. She had forgotten how much energy Tamaki had. She was tired and it wasn't even noon yet but she had to admit it had been fun. Even if she had been a little unwilling at times.

The prince set down across from her and handed her an ice cream cone with a single strawberry on top. "Oh, thank you." She smiled happily and picked the red fruit off the top and popped it into her mouth.

He licked at his cone of chocolate ice cream.

Behind them a group of high school girls whispered excited. Haruhi tried her best not to listen in and worked on licking her now slowly melting ice cream.

"Haruhi, why don't we go out to the beach this afternoon? It's lovely out. After we could always go out to dinner afterwards."

She licked a little ice cream off her lips. "Well I really need to finish some housework and also call that-" One of the young girls that had been whispering stepped up to their table, her back to Haruhi has she faced the blond prince. Haruhi had the strange urge to snap at the younger girl, having so rudely interrupted her but decided brush it off and concentrate on her ice cream instead.

"Ohh.. so you are a prince." The girl flipped her long black hair over her shoulder, batting her large eyes at Tamaki. She was cute if not a little young, Haruhi mused.

Tamaki smiled brightly up at the young girl. "I was hoping no one would be able to tell. You have a keen eye, princess." He took the girls hand and kisses the back of it.

The young girl blushed. By then her friends had also joined in the conversation, moving over to crowd around Tamaki. Haruhi rolled her eyes and finished her ice cream seemingly forgotten.

Her tummy growled at her as it got its first taste of food for the day, having been pulled away from her breakfast that morning. Not wanting to just sit there while Tamaki whooed the group of high school girls, she looked around at the food court trying to decide what she wanted to eat. Eying the long lines at some of the vendors, she decided on a wrap from the deli stand. Haruhi picked up her bag and walked over to order her food. She was sure if he had noticed her leaving or not but whatever, she was hungry and Tamaki had dragged her out before she had even been able to have breakfast that morning. She felt her good mood slowly start to take a turn towards the dark side.

While she waited in line she glanced back over her shoulder to see the black haired girl now sitting in the seat she had just left. The girl's friends were standing behind her. Tamaki was pouring on the charm. Always the ladies man, it seemed.

She took her time ordering, hoping the girls would move on or at least Tamaki would shoo them off so she could sit back down. Tray in hand she walked back.

"Hey miss!" She paused, looking over her shoulder. A man with a deli visor on run up to her. "Miss, you left your bag behind." He held out her bag.

Haruhi felt her cheeks redden. "Thank you so much." She must have been a little distracted. Okay she had been distracted, since those girls hadn't left yet she had been trying to figure out if she should just sit on her own or if Tamaki would even notice and send the girls off.

The man smiled. "No problem. You take it easy now." He walked back to the stand and returned to work.

"Haruhi?" She turned when her name was called and noticed the twins making their way towards her through the food court.

"Oh, Hikaru and Kaoru." She smiled. "What are you doing here?" She balanced her food tray in one hand and lifted her purse onto her shoulder.

The twins smiled. "We could ask you the same question." They said together. Both had on faded jeans and sleeveless black tank tops with shopping bags over their shoulders. They looked like they had also been enjoying a full morning of shopping.

"Tamaki," She gestured to a few tables over to the prince still flirting it up with the much younger girls. "Decided we should go shopping but as you can see…" She sighed and sat down at the empty table next to her.

"Well then." Kaoru smiled and sat down across from her. "I think we shall sit with you." His brother nodded and took the open seat behind her.

She smiled thankfully at the two twins. "I'll just never get used to the girls that follow you guys around." She took a sip from her drink, casting another look over at Tamaki.

"It's not the girls, so much it's him." Kaoru shot a glare over to the blond prince.

"Yeah, well we prefer to give out attentions to someone who is deserving… not anyone that comes by." Hikaru leaned his cheek on his hand.

"His loss!" They looked at each other and then smiled at her.

Tamaki smiled sweetly at the girls. They were nice but Tamaki wondered briefly why Haruhi was taking so long. He took a quick look around but didn't see her anywhere. He started to worry that she might have left.

"Well doesn't she get around." One of the girls lowered her voice and pointed over to the table were Haruhi was sitting with the twins.

The prince's eyes moved to where the girls were pointing. "What are they doing here?" He cured to himself, this was supposed to be his day with Haruhi. Tamaki stood up and left the girls sitting there as he stormed over to the other table.

They all looked up as he stomped closer. "Today is my day with Haruhi!" The prince placed his hands on his hips and glared at the two blank faced twins.

"If you wanted to spend time with her then you shouldn't have abandon her for a group of little hussies." Hikaru snapped, standing up to meet the prince's eyes.

"Well I couldn't just tell them to go away." Tamaki didn't take his eyes off him.

"Yes, you could have." The prince's eyes dropped to Kaoru sitting next to his brother.

Haruhi wasn't sure what to do. She didn't want them to start a fight. People were already starting to look at them and Tamaki was being childish… well not really but he didn't need to start picking fights.

"What? It's not like I did anything wrong." His eyes had a hard edge to them. This was a fight he seemed determined to win.

Not wanting to listen to them anymore, Haruhi knocked her drink over. "Oh darn." The cola splashed onto the floor near Tamaki's feet causing him to jump back to avoid getting his shoes wet. "I'm so sorry. Here let me get that." She grabbed the napkins from her tray and started to clean some of the spilled drink from the table.

"Oh, it's ok, Haruhi." Tamaki took some left behind napkins off the table next to them and starting to clean the mess off the floor.

"I'll go find someone to clean up the rest." Kaoru volunteered.

Seemed to Haruhi that they just needed a slight distraction.

Having moved to another table so she could finish eating while one of the mall cleaners mopped the floor, they walked about what they wanted to do for the rest of the day. They agreed to finish going shopping and then meet up again in the evening to head out on the town. Haruhi had Tamaki drop her off at her dads for a few hours to call the man about the apartment she wanted and to clean up before heading back out again. They made sure to gave Kyouya, Hunny and Mori a call but none of them were able to get out of work till later that evening. So instead of a nice dinner, they decided to meet at a night club downtown.

Haruhi strengthened out her dress. The twins had insisted that she change before they reached the club. The pale yellow dress reached just below her knees and had a scooped neckline. Not something she would pick out on her own but she had to admit that it did look nice on her.

Tamaki had flashed a smiled and got them into the V.I.P section of the club. It was nice. You could hear the music but you were less bothered with other people around your table. As it turned out, it also helped to fend off women hoping to steal a dance with one of the nice looking men at there table.

The server came and placed down the drinks. Haruhi looked at the bright coloured drink set in front of her. She didn't drink too often, if at all, but this drink looked harmless enough. "What is it?" She asked the guys as she took the first sip.

The twins smirked. "Sex on the Beach."

Tamaki chocked slightly on his drink. "What! You can't make her drink something like that!"

"Oh? Why not?" They smiled back at the flustered prince.

"Mmmmm…" Haruhi smiled, sipping on the bright drink. "This is good."

* * *

Please R&R!


	5. Club Dance

**Basket of Fruit**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Haruhi finished the last sip of her fruity drink as the men discussed business. She smiled as she watched Tamaki's hands move about as he talked about his idea for a new line of stores. The server swooped by in her short shorts and tube top, placing another drink in front of her. "Oh, thank you." The server nodded in response and placed the rest of the drinks down onto the table.

"This one is on me." Hikaru leaned away from his brother and closer to her so she could hear him over the music.

She thanked him and glanced over to the dance floor below them. There were so many people dancing. They looked like they were having a lot of fun. Haruhi didn't seem to notice that the men at her table had stopped talking.

Tamaki smiled and jumped up to his feet. "Okay! I think its time we hit the dance floor." He grabbed Haruhi hand and pulled her up from her seat. She fell against his chest.

She felt her cheeks flush with their closeness. She looked up at the blond prince. The world seemed to have a nice fuzzy glow to it.

"Will you dance with me?" His playful smile did little to mask a darker look in his eyes. She felt her heart beat speed up and simply nodded.

He started to walk her down stairs, the twins trailing close behind. The crowd of on lookers parted to let them out onto the dance floor as they moved.

The lights pulsed and moved with the throb of the music. It was hot on the floor. People moved their bodies to the music all around them like a living sea, flowing with the waves of sound. They made their way into the very center of the sea and Tamaki turned to her with a winked, placing his hands on her hips and started to dance.

Haruhi had learned that the trick to dancing was to not try to dance at all. The sound of the bass vibrated through her chest and her racing heart and she just let her body move. With Tamaki's hands on her hips she moved to the rhythm of his choosing.

Next to them the twins started to dance with each other. Several girls dancing near by stopped to watch as the attractive twins rubbed and grinded together to the sound of the music. A few of the on lookers whistled and even cat-called them but the twins just laughed and smiled. Haruhi returned their smiles when she caught sight of them around her on the dance floor.

Tamaki spun her away from the two men and pulled her closer to himself. He wanted her to himself, the twins were always trying to get between them. He had wanted to spend time with her himself today. When they had all said their goodbyes at the airport those years back, he had convinced himself that they would still be about to seeing a lot of each other, but his schooling and his father's demands kept them apart. As the time passed, he noticed the hallow, lonely feeling in his chest growing. He didn't understand it then, but seeing her and being so near to her again. It was his love for Haruhi. He had missed her so much it hurt and now that she was back again all he wanted to do was spend time with her.

The music moved about them, thick in the air. He leaned down closer to her ear. "Haruhi." His voice was deep and low but she could hear him over the music. "There is something…I have been wanting… to tell you…" She looked at the side of his face as they continued to move, too close together to fully look at each other, but the way he had said it made her heart speed up.

"Tamaki?" They slowed in their dancing and she felt the tension in his body.

"May weeeeee?" Hikaru lifted her hand off the prince's shoulder and swooped her back against Kaoru's strong chest. The exchanged happened so fast, she forgot all about Tamaki as she found herself dancing between the two men. They moved together, making them surprising easy to dance with them. Her head fuzzy from the alcohol and her body hot from dancing, she felt herself slip away.

Tamaki stood on his own on the dance floor for a moment and watched Haruhi dancing with the two carrot topped twins. He frowned. He had been so closed, but those two always interfered with him and Haruhi. They were always around her. It wasn't fair.

He wasn't alone for long as a few beautiful women moved towards him through the crowed moving dance floor. They smiled as they begged him to dance with them. He smiled at them all but picked a slim blond out of the group and walked her away from the others to dance.

The blond woman dancing among the crowd moved closer. Her breasts and hips pressed against him as she moved. She leaned up into his ear. "Hey… after this dance. Why not go get a drink with me?" She licked the edge of his ear.

Tamaki felt his heart raced and other parts of himself react. He smiled and put an arm around her waist.

-oOoOoOoOo-

Haruhi danced with the twins for a few more songs but she was starting to get thirsty and tired. It was getting a bit hot out on the dance floor.

Reading her mind, Hikaru tugged on her arm to signal that they were leaving the dance floor. She nodded. Hikaru's hand moved down the bear skin of her arm, searching for her hand.

Behind her Kaoru had a hand on her waist as he followed them through the moving wave of people.

Haruhi couldn't help but notice that Hikaru hand was very soft and warm. She didn't even notice that she had walked up the stairs and was back into the V.I.P. lounge till Hikaru let go of her hand.

"Kyouya!" Haruhi gasped as they reached the table.

He was leaning back against the couch with his arms across the back of the seats. He was in a black business suit. The jacket was open, his tie loose and his white dress shirt slightly unbuttoned. He took a sip from his drink. "I was starting to think that you guys would dance for the whole night."

Haruhi sat down on the couch next to him, Hikaru beside her and Kaoru on the chair across from the business man.

"I thought you couldn't make it till much later?" Haruhi picked up her drink from the table, taking a large sip.

"Seemed we were able to solve the issue in less time then I had thought." Kyouya looked around for a moment. "Where is Tamaki?" He asked, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "I thought he was going to be here too."

Kaoru looked over his shoulder at the dance floor, but didn't see the blond prince anywhere in the crowd. "He must still be dancing, would you like me to go find him?"

Kyouya shook his head. "No, don't bother. He'll come back soon enough." He looked over at the only girl in the group. "Haruhi, have you thought about my offer?"

The twins exchanged a look. "Offer?"

Hikaru turned to face Haruhi. "What kind of offer?"

She placed her empty drink glass back down. "Kyouya offered me a job at one of his business firms."

"What! That's not fair." The twins pouted slightly.

Kyouya sighed. "I don't think Haruhi would be at home working in a clothing store." He pointed out.

"True." They brushed their long bangs from their eyes and leaned back.

Haruhi looked at the empty glass on the table. She was still thirsty from all that dancing, where was the server when you needed her. It seemed they always showed up when you didn't want to be interrupted and hide when you did need them. Must be some weird little game they liked to play.

"Haruhi?"

"Yes!" She looked up at Kyouya. "Sorry, must have zoned out." She laughed lightly. "I think I will take you up on that offer but I would like to know more about it first... "

"Wonderful. I'll give you the details later." Kyouya gave her a small amused smile.

The server walked by and placed some more drinks on the table. She didn't bring one for Tamaki this time.

"I'll be right back… just going to use the ladies room." Haruhi took a sip of her drink and moved towards the stairs to head back to the first floor.

The twins watched her go out of sight, making sure she would be okay on her own, before looking back at Kyouya with narrowed eyes.

"What are you plotting?" Hikaru snapped.

He looked at the twins over the rim of his glasses. "I have no idea what you mean."

"You think we don't know?" Kaoru leaned back and met Kyouya's eyes.

"We know about the engagement you tried to arrange." Hikaru pointed a long finger at the Shadow King.

Kyouya placed his drink down slowly. "If you know that, then you know the offer was turned down. I am simply snatching up a good worker. She will do a very good job. I just feel that her skills should not be wasted on any other lower companies. That is all."

The twins thought about it and decided not to press the issue any further. If it was alright with Haruhi then they were alright with it too.

-oOoOoOo-

Haruhi walked out of the bathroom and back into the moving waves of people going about the club. She looked out onto the dance floor but didn't see Tamaki anywhere. She decided to walk past the downstairs bar on her way back up stairs. Maybe he was sitting down there hiding or something, but he wasn't sitting at the bar either. She looked through the crowds. The people shifted and she was able to see Tamaki's short blond hair briefly through the crowd. As she walked towards him, she was able to see slender arms wrapped about his back and a smooth leg rubbing up the side of his pant leg.

Tamaki, and the girl, didn't seem to notice her as they continued to make out against one of the many pillars holding up the second floor.

Haruhi was shocked at the sight. He was always playful and flirty but never had she seem with doing anything of the sort with any of the girls. She was surprised and embarrassed by it and quickly turned back towards the stairs and the safety of the V.I.P section. When she made it back to the table she took a big sip from her glass and dropped into her chair.

"What's the matter, Haruhi?" Kaoru asked, concerned.

"Oh?" She tried to shake the image of Tamaki and the girl out of her head but it just kept repeating over and over. Then she wondered if they already knew each other. Maybe it was an old girlfriend, or his girlfriend. "No, nothing is wrong. I'm fine." She flashed him a fake smile and took another long sip of her drink.

The men looked at each other and then back at her. Hikaru opened his mouth to ask again but Haruhi continued to talk again. She just felt like she needed to say it. "I found Tamaki down stairs." She looked down at her drink. It was almost empty again. Why did they give you so little in a glass when it's so good?

"Oh?" Kyouya prompted.

"He was all over some girl."

The twins frowned. "Oh no…" Hikaru looked at his brother.

He frowned. "You don't think he's starting up again?" Kaoru asked in a lower voice.

Kyouya decided it would be best if the topic was changed and asked Haruhi about the new apartment and ordered her another drink. She didn't need to worry about Tamaki's bad habits right now.

She brightened up and moved a little closer to Kyouya so they could hear each other over the music. She started to go over the details of the place and when she could move in. The guys all agreed to help her move in when she needed the help, much to her relief. Though she didn't have much, it would still be a lot for her and she didn't want to bother her dad too much with it.

It was early in the morning by the time the group, minus Tamaki, decided it was best to head home for the night.

Haruhi was a little worse for wear however. Someone had ordered shots. She could no longer remember who, but there had been shots. Quite a few, at some point she had lost count.

She looked up at the roof of the car and watched the lights move over it as they drove down the road. She wanted to sit up, but her body felt very heavy. When she did try her head started to swirl. She thought it best to lay back and enjoy the pretty lights... maybe close her eyes a little bit.

She didn't, however, remember getting out of the car. Haruhi watched her feet take one step at a time. She was pleased to find herself staying upright. It seemed like a great improvement over not being able to sit a few moments ago. Something was bugging her though, but she didn't know quite was it was. For one, although she was moving her feet, she didn't feel like she was walking and Haruhi never remembered having red carpets at her dad's place. On second thought, they didn't have carpets at all.

Suddenly the world turned as whatever forces had been holding her up on her right side, disappeared and she pivoted around and into something warm and hard.

"Hey, be careful. We don't want to drop her."

"I have her. Just open the door."

She liked this warm thing. It was nice… and it was making music. She leaned her ear against it to hear the beating of a soft drum coming from within.

Hikaru blushed as Haruhi shifted against him, pressing harder into his body.

His brother walked back out and just smiled knowingly to his twin. "Come on, let's get her in bed."

Hikaru nodded and bent down to pick up her legs. Haruhi gave a gasp of giggles as her world was suddenly turned around when he lifted her into his arms.

Together the twins carefully sat her down at the edge of the bed and sat down on either side of her.

"You did call her dad right?"

"No, Kyouya did before we left."

"Ok, good."

Haruhi looked around the room. It was a nice room. She looked down at her legs and noticed two other pairs next to hers. She followed one pair up. "Kaoru!" She giggled. "What are you doing here?"

He couldn't help but smile. She was so smashed. "We brought you home, you had too much to drink."

"Ohhh… I don't think this is my house." She giggled again and she looked around.

"That's because it's not." Kaoru put a hand on her shoulder to steady her a little.

"But then daddy is going to worry. Who's going to make him food?"

"We already told him you weren't coming home tonight."

She turned around to see who belonged to the voice behind her. "Hikaru!" She smiled and turned to face him. "You are always so sweet…" She placed a hand against his cheek.

He felt his cheeks redden.

"Oh… you're blushing." She leaned closer. "You know…" She looked into his eyes. "You know…" She leaned closer, and kissed him.

All thoughts left him for a moment, his hands moving to grab her arms. Torn between giving in to the kiss and pushing her away.

She pulled back and smiled. "You know you are so sweet." Haruhi then turned to Kaoru who had an almost frightened look in his eyes. "Kaoru..." She whispered and kissed him too.

When she pulled back enough for them to see each other. A look pasted between the two men. A wary and scared look, but Haruhi pulled on their hands and moved further onto the bed.

* * *

Please R&R!


	6. Morning After

**Basket of Fruit**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

She hated two things most of all in her life at that very moment. One being the bright lights shinning in at her and two being the birds outside the window. She turned, throwing the soft sheet over her face and snuggled deeper into the very fluffy pillow. Slowly her mind started to wake up and it hurt, but she was able to recall why she had at least a headache.

Last night she had gone to a club with a bunch of the guys, she remembered dancing, drinks and a few good jokes that were told, but how had she gotten home? She turned over again and peeked out of the covers. As the room came into focus she knew this wasn't in her room. The room was large with white walls and several paintings. She quickly sat upright and looked around, but the world started to spin and she was forced to lay back down.

She assisted the situation slowly so not to hurt her already aching head. She was not in her own room, and therefore in someone else's bed. She peeked under the sheets. She was in nothing other then her underwear, her bra and cloths gone. And a sigh and movement of sheets next to her told her there was also a guy in the bed.

Her heart beat started to pick up.

Slowly Haruhi reached over to the large hump in the sheets. Carefully she pulled down the covers till she saw the familiar carrot hair of one of the twins. She paused. She hadn't. They didn't.

She pulled the covers tighter to her bare chest as the bed moved. Eyes still closed, he sat upright, stretched and rose from the bed completely butt naked. Haruhi hid under the covers as she felt her face redden as he walked around the bed and stepped through a half open door. She heard the sound of running water.

"Okay, it's alright. That doesn't mean anything. Maybe he just sleeps in the nude. Doesn't mean anything happened… does it?" She wanted her cloth. Holding the sheet she looked about the floor but didn't see them. She started to panic before she noticed them on a chair near by.

Haruhi slipped her legs out of the bed, using the sheet to cover herself, she leaned out of to grab her cloths.

"Haruhi?" She froze. Slowly she looked from her cloths, still just out of reach, to Kaoru, standing in nothing more then a towel and dripping wet. She was at a loss of words. She wrapped herself more in the bed sheet as she slowly traced the line of his body up to his eyes.

He smirked. "Need some help?"

She nodded. Not trusting her voice and still scared at not remembering what had happened last night.

Kaoru picked up her cloths and handed them to her. Suddenly nervous, his eyes meet her eyes for a moment before turning away. "I'll... um... I'll let you get dressed. "

Haruhi watched him walk back into the bathroom, closing the door behind himself. As soon as the door was shut, she quickly slipped her cloths back on. Not knowing what to do or where to go, she sat on the bed looking at her hands.

In the bathroom, Kaoru sat on the floor against the wall. His arm over his eyes as he worked on his breathing. His mind went back to the night before. Hikaru and himself had decided to bring her back to their place since she had had a little too much to drink and they didn't want to have to deal with her father. They had decided that she would take the bed and they would just sleep out in the living room. But Haruhi in her intoxicated state had thought differently.

She had kissed them. So unexpectedly that they could not react. He had looked at his brother, both at a loss. Haruhi then took their hands and pulled them up onto the bed. Knelling on the bed with them now, she turned to him and kissed him, pausing to pull his shirt off. He shivered remembering her small hands on his body.

She had then turned and kissed Hikaru, tugging at his cloths as well. She started to place kisses down his chest. He had sighed and met his brother's eye. This wasn't right. She couldn't even walk on her own more or less know what she was doing. Even if their bodies aches for her, it was not right.

Kaoru and his brother slowly laid her back on the bed and tucking her between their now half naked bodies. They placed a small kiss on each of her cheeks and she was out like a light. Together they laid awake for most of the night.

"Are you done?" Kaoru called from behind the closed door. He wondered how much she remembered.

"Yeah..."

He peeked back out from the bathroom, still in his towel. He didn't look at her as he walked over to the dresser and pulled out some cloths. He quickly got dressed, keeping his back to her while she kept her eyes on anything but him. "Are you hungry? Breakfast should be ready."

She nodded, her eyes still on her hands on her lap. She swallowed. "Did we…"

"Hmm?" Kaoru walked back over to the bed.

"Oh nothing."

"Ok then." He offered her a hand up. "Let's get something to eat.

When they made it over to the kitchen, Hikaru was already sitting there eating a bowl of cereal. He wore a green house coat over a pair of sweat pants. He looked up as they entered. "Oh, good morning Haruhi, how are you feeling? Did you sleep ok?"

She sat down slowly. She really, really wished she could remember what had happened.

As for Hikaru however, he was doing everything he could not to remember what had happened. He had dreamed for so long to have a change with Haruhi that just thinking of last night made his heart run wild. His cheeks slowly reddened as he remembered waking up next to her in the early hours of the morning. He was curled tightly against her back, his arm wrapped around her soft bear waist. It was hot under the covers so when Hikaru pushed them down a bit and saw nothing but the smooth skin of Haruhi's back, he knew he needed to get up. After one long, and cold shower, he moved out to the living room.

Kaoru started to go through some of the cupboards in the kitchen. "Haruhi, what would you like to eat?"

She didn't think she could stomach anything at this moment. "Just a glass of water please." She kept her eyes down. What had happened last night?

The brothers exchanged looks, talking to each other through nothing more then eye contact. Kaoru set a glass down on the counter next to him. "Haruhi, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered stiffly.

Hikaru set down his spoon. "What's wrong?"

She took a few deep breaths. "Didsomethinghappenlastnight?" It all come out in a rush of words. She needed to know, wanted to know but didn't really want to know the answer if the answer was yes. She knew how she got after a few drinks and last night was more then a few drinks. Enough drinks for her to wake up close to naked in someone else bed kind of a few too many.

The brothers again looked at each other before putting everything together. They laughed, causing Haruhi to jump and look at the twins for the first time since coming into the room.

"Oh god, no." Kaoru filled her cup with water and grabbed a few aspirin from the cabinet, setting them down in front of her before going back to make himself a bowl of cereal.

Hikaru took another mouthful of his breakfast. "We would never do that to you, know should know that."

She felt her cheeks blush but she sighed with relief.

"Now it had been someone like Tamaki," Kaoru poured some milk into his bowl. "I'd be more careful around him."

His brother nodded and paused as a thought came to him. "Did you think something happened cause Kaoru here had no cloths on?"

It was now Kaoru turn to turn beat red. "Hey! I can't help what I do in my sleep." He shot his brother a dirty look as he sat down next to him.

Haruhi swirled the water around in her glass a little, relieved that nothing had happened. She had been panicking that because of a night on the town might have changed and or ruined a friendship. She had seen it happen more then once. Sex and a casual friendship never worked. She let out a long sigh and felt the weigh off her shoulders. She felt bad for doubting them but she knew they could understand her jumping to such a conclusion after waking up the way she had.

The morning passed on quickly as they changed their topic of discussion from the misunderstanding of the morning to what each of them had planed for the day. Mostly they relaxed and worked off their hangovers. Before lunch they had a car called to take Haruhi back home. She wanted to wash up and change before calling Kyouya. The twins had reminded her in the morning about how she accepted his job offer and should at least learn a little more about his job offer before she turned it down again... it might not hurt to at least listen.

As the brothers watched her car pull away, they leaned against the door way across from each other. "What do you think?" Kaoru crossed his arms across his chest.

Hikaru smirked. "I think Haruhi has now seen you naked."

His brother scoffed at the comment and walked back into their large house. The large from entrance way seemed oddly empty. "That's not what I meant."

His brother caught up to him in a few long strides. "I know… but I think it has brought up a lot of things I didn't want to think about."

"You mean your feelings for Haruhi?" Kaoru stopped and looked his brother in the eyes.

"Yeah… but the same for you." That surprised Kaoru. He had long since encouraged his brother to chase the girl he wanted. All the while pretending that he had no interest in her. Happy with the thought of his brother being happy, but last night had brought to the surface feelings he had long denied having. Feeling that he couldn't hide from his brother. He had become more aware of Haruhi, the way she moved and way her hair flowed around her when she turned or that peaceful look she had on her face while she slept.

Kaoru shook his head. "Doesn't matter, this doesn't change anything. No matter what I think or feel, really it will be up to Haruhi in the end."

His brother nodded. "Though I'm a bit worried. Do you think the Host club can survive like this? Yes, Tamaki has feelings for her, we all know that but the way Kyouya has been looking at her too."

Kaoru ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know."

Their twin maids stepped into the hall and bowed. "Young Masters, you are needed in the office."

They looked at each other and shrugged. "Well lets not worry about it for now."

"Yeah we have work to do."

-oOoOoOoOo-

Freshly showered and changed, Haruhi made herself a quick sandwich to eat while going over some scribbled phone messages her dad had written down while she had been out. There was two message. One of which was from Kyouya and the other was the landlord of her new apartment. She decided to call the landlord first, it was probably about when she could move in.

About twenty minutes later she was sitting in a nice French café with Kyouya. "So they said you could move in this weekend?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, I have to admit I'm kind of excited."

He chuckled lightly. "I'll bet." He was, as always, dressed in a fine tailored black suit, his black hair tied back and his glasses part way down his nose as he gazed at her over their rims. He pushed them back into place with a single long finger. "You know, you really need to get a cell phone. I don't care for leaving messages like that."

"Well yeah... Once I start a new job it will be one of the first things I get." She picked up her cup of rose tea and took a small sip.

The thought of getting her a new cell phone crossed his mind but he quickly dismissed it. She wasn't likely to accept the gift anyways. "Well in that case, down to business." Kyouya placed three papers onto the table. "These are our current job openings for your field within our companies. You may apply to all if you wish, however you will still need to complete the interview process and be hired."

Haruhi picked up the papers. "Only three openings, huh?" She mumbled to herself as she looked over the job openings. Each was for a different company or office. None of which she recognized and all the basic job description seemed to be the same. On the plus side, none of the jobs were looking for anyone with any kind of experience. Which was good because she still didn't have any.

Kyouya pushed his empty teacup to the side. "I figured you would much rather enjoy a choice then if I had picked one for you."

She flipped between the papers. "This one is out." She put the one paper back onto the table. "I'm not sure how good I would be with Corporate and Commercial Law." She set the other two before her.

"So you're more interested in Criminal Law cases then?" He opened up his notebook and started to write something down. Haruhi stared harder at the remaining two.

"I'm not sure which one to pick."

"Then apply for both." Kyouya set down his pen and closed his notebook. He watched her stare down at the two offending job posts and sighed. Getting up he moved around the table and leaned over Haruhi's shoulder. He pointed to the one on the left. "That one is for a smaller firm mostly dealing with smaller private cases. Where the other is a much larger law firm. They have some very high profile cases that go through there. It's more corporate then the first."

Haruhi looked up at him and found their faces just inches apart. This close she caught the warm smell of his cologne but quickly turned to look back at the papers when Kyouya met her eyes. "Since you know more about the positions then I do. Which do you think would be best?" She asked, wishes her cheeks would cool.

"Oh?" He straightened up and slowly moved back to his seat. "It's unlike you to let another pick for you, but since you asked so nicely. I would suggest the smaller firm. Since you are just starting, it will be a good place to start to build up your case files." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his long legs. "You can still apply to both if you wish and see who hires you." He shrugged.

She nodded slowly, raising her eyes back to the dark man across from her. "I guess I can do that -" She jumped a little when Kyouya's watch beeped.

He sighed and got back to his feet. "Sorry, but I'm needed back at the office." He picked up the papers and slipped them back into his briefcase. "I'll pass on your resume to both office for you then." He snapped his briefcase closed and stood over her.

Haruhi looked up with a smile. "Thank you so much, Kyouya."

"It's the least I can do. After all, keeping the job is up to you." He gave her a small smirk.

She laughed nervously. "Don't worry, I'll do my best."

Quickly leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I know you will." With that he left.

* * *

Please R&R

Also for those who have already read the first few chapters. They have all be updated and reposted. Since it had been a while since working on this fanfic, I wanted to go over it some.


	7. Moving Day

**Basket of Fruit**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

As promised, the guys did indeed show up to help Haruhi move into her new apartment. Though not quite in the fashion she and most people were used to.

"No!" Tamaki stamped down his foot. "Since I'm the King I say that I get the pick."

"Pfft. You were king of the Host Club and this isn't the Host Club anymore." The twins glared at the blond haired prince.

Kyouya sighed. "At this rate its going to take all day to move Haruhi's stuff into her new place."

Tamaki pouted and turned to Haruhi. "Haruhi…."

She waved her hands. "I think you guys are going about this all wrong. After all-" She opened the sliding door to her old bedroom. "I don't have that much stuff to move." There were about fifteen bags and boxes piled up against the side of the room. Next to her stuff was an open suitcase and a makeshift cot she had been sleeping on for the last week since her return. '_And they want to rent a fleet of movers just for this._' She sighed.

The carrot twins leaned into the small room. "This is where you have been sleeping?" They walked about the room, looking over the boxes and poking at the only open suitcase filled with some cloths.

"Yes. There was no need to unpacking everything since I was just going to have to repack it again to move." Haruhi shooed Kaoru away from her open bag and started to shove her cloths back into it.

Tamaki looked at the small room with a horrified expression. "If I had known…"

"Huh?" Haruhi glanced up at him.

"If I had known this was how you were living." His fists shook. "I would have opened my home to you, Haruhi! This is no way for a maiden like you to be living! Even if it is only temporary, this is no place for –"

A tall longhaired red headed man grabbed the blond prince by the back of his shirt and shook him. "Who do you think you are!" Ranka angrily glared at Tamaki. "How dare you come into my home and yell at my daughter!"

"Oh, hi dad." Haruhi closed up her suitcase and walked up to her father.

Ranka threw Tamaki out of the room and into the wall behind him. "Haruhi!" He hugged his daughter tightly. "I can't believe your leaving me again!" Her dad wiped a tear from his eye.

"Oh dad. You know where I'm going and you are welcome there anytime." She tired to reassure him as he hugged her tightly again.

"But it's not the same! I am your father and as such I have to watch over you!"

Haruhi just smiled up at him, but then had a thought. "I almost forgot." She reached into her pocket. "Here you go dad." She dropped a spare key to her new apartment into his hand.

Tamaki poked his head between the two. "Where's mine?" He asked in a small voice.

Haruhi just walked right past him. "Why would I give you a key?" Tamaki followed after her, pouting.

The twins snickered. "That would be a bad idea." They smirked.

Kaoru put a hand on his hip. "Yeah, he would be more incline to sneak in during the middle of the night and do who knows what!"

Hikaru shot the prince a dark look in warning. So did Haruhi's father.

Tamaki put up his hands in defense. "No-no-no! I wouldn't ever do that to my precious Haruhi."

Haruhi shook her head. "Maybe this might have been easier if I hadn't asked you guys for help." She set her bag next to the front door.

Kyouya snapped his cell phone closed. "Maybe, but this is more fun."

She looked up at him, then back to the others currently fighting in the living room. "I don't know if I would call this fun."

He shrugged. "Well, either way, Mori and Hunny will be here soon with a van to move your stuff. It's not like you have furniture to move also,. So there is no need to hire any movers."

She tapped her chin in thought. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I'm going to need to go buy some furniture." She laughed to herself. "The place is going to be empty for a while till I can pick out a few new things."

The fight in the living room calmed down and Kaoru glided over to Haruhi, looping his arm over her shoulders. "Don't worry about that, I'm sure we can all help you out there."

His brother moved to her other side, putting his arm around her waist. "Yeah, I'm sure we have lots of furniture we don't need anymore."

She looked between the two. "Guys, you don't need to go that far. I'll get my own stuff."

Tamaki opened his mouth to speak but Ranka jumped in. "Haruhi, let them help you out. It wouldn't hurt. Besides if they don't need it, you might was well use it."

"Yeah but-" There was a honk from outside.

"Haruhi" The twins stepped in front. "lets get moving! The van is here." They smiled and started to carry her bags out. "Hey lets play a game! Lets play 'who can carry the most at one time' game." They smiled at each other.

Mori walked through the door and passed the crowded living room. Leaving just as quietly with about six boxes in his arms.

The twins watched him leave. "Oh no fair." They frowned at each other. "I guess Mori wins~." They shrugged and processed to carry their bags out to the van.

Haruhi poked her head out of the apartment to see Hunny waving at her from a white van. "Haruhi! We got a van for your stuff." He smiled.

She leaned against the railing. "Hunny I didn't know you can drive." She returned his bright smile.

He nodded. "Well I don't really drive… but that's why I have him." Hunny pointed over to a man in a black suit smoking a cigarette next to the van. "I just like sitting in the front." He continued.

The twins brushed past with a handful of boxes, the prince in tow. Ranka put an arm over her shoulder as they watched her friends pack up the back of the van. "You have a good group of friends, but Haruhi-" She turned to look at her dad. "It's not a weakness to let them spoil you once and a while." He smiled and patted her cheek lovingly. "They just like you after all and want to make sure you are happy."

She turned away from her father and leaned her elbows on the rail, her chin resting in her hands. She smiled to herself as the Prince chanced the twins around the van while Mori lifted the boxes into the back. "I know. I just don't want them to think I'm after their money and I kind of like doing things on my own."

Her dad patted her on the back. "They would never think that. Now go, make sure you have everything and give me a call later to let me know how everything went."

She smiled. "Ok dad, thanks." She gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Love you, Dad."

Tamaki glided up behind her. "Haruhi, where's my kiss?"

"Not going to happened, Tamaki." She went back into the apartment. Most of the boxes and bags were gone now, the guys making short work of the few items she had, so she folded up her makeshift cot away. She checked around the bedroom and bathroom for anything that might have been missed before returning to the living room.

Tamaki picked up the last two boxes from the room. "Is this it?" He asked as she moved past.

She nodded. "Yeah." As the prince headed out the door and Haruhi knelt down in front of her mother's shrine. "See you later Mom. I Love you."

Kyouya watched from the doorway as Haruhi bowed her head a moment in prayer. His eyes softened as she pushed back a lock of hair from her face. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at her father.

Ranka too watched his daughter pay her respects to her late mother. "I'm counting on you guys to watch over her for me."

He nodded, taking his glasses off to clean them. "Don't worry, I wont let anything happen to her." Smoothly he slipped them back onto his face.

"Haruhi! Kyouya! Come on!" Hikaru called up from the van and waiting car. She didn't have much stuff but there wasn't enough room in the van for everyone so they had elected to use one of Kyouya's limos. It had been decided that Hunny and Mori would follow in the van while everyone else lead the way in the limo.

Packed in the back of the limo between the twins, Haruhi briefly hoped that they would just drop the stuff off and leave her to slowly unpack the rest but knew that that wasn't going to happen. The twins tightened their hold on the her. "So Haruhi~" Kaoru smiled. "Why don't we all order in something to eat after we have to unpacked."

His brother nodded. "Yeah, it will be on us!"

Tamaki frowned. "No, if anyone is to treat it will be me!"

Haruhi sighed. "Listen guys, that's not how it's suppose to work." They looked at her questioningly but it was Kyouya who answered.

Closing his phone and slipping it back into his breast pocket, he crossed his long legs in front of him. "If I understand the custom of moving, it is up to the host or hostess," He gestured to Haruhi. "To provide some sort gift to those who helped with the moving."

Tamaki frowned, putting a finger to his chin in thought. "What sort of gift?" He mused.

"Oh!" Hikaru leaned forward in his seat as an idea came to him. "Like like like..." He sat back. "Okay I have no idea..." He admitted.

Kyouya smirked. "I believe it is custom for the hostess to provide the meal." He met her eyes.

"Haruhi's cooking!" Tamaki smiled brightly.

She felt a small urge to kick one of Kyouya's long lean legs but decided against it. They had it in their heads now, so there was no denying it. She was going to have to go out shopping then once they had the boxes moved in.

-oOoOoOoOo-

They pulled into the underground packing to her new apartment, something she didn't even know the building had come with. Not like she had a car anyways but it was nice to know there was room if she ever got one or that when the guys did visit, they wouldn't attract as much attention. Their small convoy packed as close to the elevator as they could and started to carry her boxes over to the elevator door. Haruhi grabbed Tamaki's hand before he could press the call button for the elevator. "Ok, wait one moment." The guys grouped around. "I just want to get a few things straight."

"Ohhh?" The twins leaned closer together, hands on their hips.

"I just wanted to thank you guys for helping me and all." They nodded. "But I don't want any gifts. No furniture or anything like that, okay? I want to get things on my own, I don't need your help... cause you'll likely go over board." She sighed.

Kyouya pushed his glasses back up his nose. "It's been noted."

Hunny grabbed Haruhi's arm and pushed the elevator button. "Come on Haruhi, I want to see your new place. I haven't been able to see it yet."

"Us either." The twins grinned evilly.

Once the doors for the elevator opened they quickly piled as many boxes as possible in. Maybe a few too many.

"Um, guys, I think we put too many boxes in there."

"You think." Tamaki tiled his head a little. "I think it should be fine."

Hikaru and Kaoru stepped into the elevator and turned to face to look at Tamaki. "I'm not too sure." With the two of them standing there, there was barely enough room for the doors to close. They looked at each other, then Haruhi. An evil grin spread across their faces. Kaoru pressed the button for the sixth floor while Hikaru grabbed Haruhi. They fell back onto the boxes, Haruhi across their laps as the doors closed.

"Hey wait a second!" The doors locked closed. "Why those damn dirty twins!" Tamaki looked one way and then the other. Seeing the doors for the stairs, he bolted for them. "I'm coming Haruhi!"

The others watched him go and Mori pressed the elevator button again.

Kyouya sighed. "Idiot."

"Takashi, does Tamaki even know where her apartment is?" Hunny looked up at his tall friend.

Mori just shook his head.

-oOoOoOoOo-

"Oh! Cut it out you two!" Haruhi and the twins fell from the elevator as the doors opened on the sixth floor. The carrot haired twins were laughing as Kaoru just managed to grab the elevator door again before it closed.

"Oh come on, Haruhi, haha, lets get the boxes out so they others can come up."

Kaoru held out a hand to pull her back onto her feet and off his brother. "Geez, you guys didn't need to do that." She straightened her cloths. "We could have taken everything up in a few trips."

Kaoru took the offered box from Hikaru and set it in the hallway. "Yeah but it was total worth it just to see the look on Tamaki's face."

His brother laughed. "He's too easy."

Haruhi sighed and grabbed a box from the pile. These two just never change. Mind you, nether had Tamaki. The image of him with the girl from the club suddenly came to mind. '_Why am I thinking of that all of a sudden?_' She tried to shake the thought from her head.

"Haruhi?"

She blinked. "Oh sorry, Hikaru."

"I said that's it for the boxes, the others can bring the rest up."

They let the elevator close and walked down the hall towards Haruhi's apartment. "Are you sure it's ok to leave everything just sitting in the hallway?" Haruhi asked.

Kaoru looked back at the boxes. "Well, where else are we going to put them for now?" He shrugged. "I'll stay out here if you like, and keep an eye on everything." He leaned his back against the wall next to the pile of her stuff.

"Are you sure, Kaoru?" Hikaru turned back to his brother.

He smiled reassuringly. "Go, the others are going to be here soon anyways."

Haruhi turned the key in the lock and opened the door to her new home. She stopped in the doorway. It was the apartment she picked out but… it was fully furnished. It was all simple and tasteful furniture but the place was supposed to be empty. As she walked in, she noticed the whole island in the kitchenette was full of flowers. She picked up the card from the vase of red roses. 'To my one and only Haruhi' signed Tamaki. Figures. But there was also ones from Hunny and Mori, and Kyouya and the twins. "Oh you guys." They were so beautiful.

Hikaru gave her a quick hug from behind. "Oh this is nothing, you should see what else we go you." He grinned.

"Did Haruhi already go in? Oh... but I wanted to see her reaction." Hunny's voice floated in from the hallway.

Haruhi and Hikaru turned to see the rest of their group, minus the blond prince, come into the apartment. "Guys, you didn't have to do this." She smelled the bouquet of blue and orange roses from the twins then the lilies from Mori and Hunny. The smells from all the flowers filled the small apartment.

Hunny smiled. "Well we couldn't have you living in an empty place. Where would we sit when we came over to visit?"

She laughed. "What, you guys too good for the floor?" She walked through the small kitchen and into the living room. There was a good-sized table set to the one side. More then enough to sit everyone. The living room had a long sectional couch with a simple black coffee table and a TV against the wall.

Haruhi turned when there was a bang on the apartment's door. Tamaki bent over, his hands on his knees, his breathing hard. "Guys, that, was mean." He shot a glare at the twins. "I ran all the way to the top floor before I relieved I didn't know which on was Haruhi's." He slowly straightened up, still working on his breathing.

"And who's fault is that." They shot back at the tried prince. Shrugging they walked over to the only other door in the apartment. "Hey Haruhi! Come see what we picked out for you." The pulled open the screened door to show the bedroom.

She moved through the living room and looked into the room. "That bed is huge!" Everyone else gathered around to see. The bed was simple, like the other furniture in the apartment. Next to it was a small night table. Drawers were built into the bottom frame of the bed. Even the bed covers were nice and simple in various shades of green.

The twins moved around the bed, sitting on either side of it grinning. "It's a queen!" They flopped back onto the bed. "So there is lots of room for when we come over to stay."

"WHAT?" Tamaki marched into the room but Haruhi stopped him.

"Tamaki." She said in a warning tone. She had had enough of his antics for the day. The others exchanged curious looks at each other.

Tamaki blinked. Slowly he straightened, looking over at the twins now leaning on their elbows looking at back at them from the bed. He let out a long breath and left the room to go sit down on the couch.

The rest of the boxes were moved into what space they could find in the apartment from the hallway. Tamaki watched from his spot on the couch. It seemed that something was bothering him, most guessed it was from being snapped at but normally his mood swings didn't last very long. Kyouya sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"

Tamaki ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not sure." He put his elbows on his knees and let his head fall forward. He listened to Hunny going through the fridge to pull out the sushi trays, wine and sweet that they had put there when they brought the flowers earlier that morning. They were deciding whether or not to sit at the table or in the living room for eating the snacks. He turned back to his best friend. "Why am I acting like this?" He asked in a low voice, not wishing the others to hear.

Kyouya took off his glasses and started to clean them with a cloth from his pocket. "Well, it's hard not to act like our younger selves when Haruhi is around." He slipped his glasses back on. "She brings back a lot of old memories… and feelings." He met Tamaki's bright eyes.

He sighed, nodding his head. "You're right." He pulled himself to his feet. "Haruhi, I'm sorry but I need to get going."

She looked up from setting out the food trays on the dinning table. "Oh, ok." She watched him give her her a small wave as he left and figured that maybe something from work had come up.

Once the door closed the twins frowned. They didn't say anything but something was bugging their blond leader. They cast a look at the only girl in the group. Whatever was bugging him, he didn't want to tell or let Haruhi know about it.

"Come on Kyouya, lets have something to eat." Hunny pulled out a chair from himself at the long table.

Hikaru frowned. "I thought Haruhi was going to make us dinner!"

"Yeah." His brother joined in. "I wanted to try Haruhi's cooking."

"Some other time, I guess" Haruhi went back into the kitchen. "I'll get us some plates." She opened up one of the cupboard over the sink and then another. Empty. She didn't have any dishes. She pulled open another draw where the spoons and such should have been. Also empty. "I guess we'll just have to make do."

Kyouya sat down with the others. "Well it seems we have forgotten a few things."

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. After they had something to eat, the guys helped her unpack little. At one point they uncovered her old photo album from high school, which gave them all a good laugh. It brought back a lot of things she had forgotten about. Like the time the guys had all dressed up as girls when they had thought she was going to leave for the all girls school. Or how the dark magic club got one up on them during the Halloween's courage contest.

Kaoru and Hikaru were doubled over with laughter. "Oh my, haha! I had forgotten about that." They looked over the newspaper cut out tapped into her scrapbook.

Mori pulled out a few others books from the box next to the table where they had found the photo album. They were a collection of photo books that Kyouya had been selling, along with all the comics written about the club.

Kyouya snickered. "Haruhi, I didn't know you were such a fan." He pulled the photo book about himself out from the pile.

Haruhi felt her cheeks redden. "It's not like that!" She snatched the book from his hand and shoved it back into the box.

"Ohhhhh. Then how is it?" The twins gave her a cat like grin.

She more calmly put the other books back. "I thought they would be fun to have, you know? Something to look back on. Cause, a lot of these pictures were taken when we were all together." They were memories. She loved all the memories she had made with the Host Club and had missed their friendship while she had been gone. She looked about the room at the smiling faces of her friends. Things may be a little different now, but she was happy to be back.

Soon after the rest of them left. Leaving her alone in the apartment. Kyouya had handed her a small pink cell phone with a little ribbon on it as he had walked out the door. She sat down on the couch, turning the small phone over in her hands. She pulled off the ribbon and flipped it open. The background was an old image of her and the group from the Host club. She smiled at their laughing faces. She noticed the phone had been programmed with everyone's home, work and cell numbers. She noticed her dad's number too. "Oh shoot dad." She quickly pressed the call button.

"Hello dear, how did the move go?"

She looked around the apartment, it was hers but yet, it wasn't right. It was still missing something. As she talked to her dad about her day she unpacked a small box she had kept away from the guys. She started to remove some framed photos. Putting one of her mother and father next to her bed, along with a photo from their high school graduation and one with her friends from university. She also had a fun photo from when the twins had flown over to visit her in the US.

Her fathers voice brought her back from the old memories. "You going to be alright on your own?"

"Yeah dad, I'll be fine. I've been on my own for a while now, don't forget." She hung up the phone a little while later, setting it on the nightstand. A quick walk around the apartment to turned off all the lights, shed her cloths and slipped under the new covers on her new bed. Discovering that their were silk sheets under the downy cover, she smiled. There was also something under her pillow. In the dim light she pulled out the photo book of the twins. Both barely dressed on the front cover, the words "Sweet Dreams" written across the front.

She tossed the book onto the floor. "Now when did they sneak that there…?" She yawned and fell right asleep.

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	8. Past Emotions

**Basket of Fruit**

**Chapter 8**

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The next morning Haruhi woke up trying to remember where she was. She sat up, letting the covers pool into her lap and looked around.

"That's right… this is my place now…" She straightened her arms over he head and rose to go to the bathroom. Her first mission of the day was to go out to the market and pick up anything she needed for the house that the guys had forgotten, and along with some food. Though there were some leftovers from the other night but Haruhi really didn't want to eat it for breakfast. So she washed up and got dressed before heading out.

She was on her way back to the apartment when her new phone rang. Setting her bags down on a near by bench, she fished the small phone out from her bag. The caller ID said it was from Kaoru.

"Kaoru?"

"Hey Haruhi. I was wondering if it would be alright if I came by this afternoon. There are few things I would like to talk to you about."

"Um, yeah sure." They hung up and she dropped the phone back into her purse, picking up her shopping begs again. She wondered what Kaoru would have to talk to her about. There had been something in the tone of his voice what said it wasn't going to be good and it made her worry a little.

She made it back to her apartment without any further incident. She had planned on taking more time to explore the area but the call from Kaoru had caused her to change her mind. She had liked what she had seen though. There were lots of nice shops and markets close by. As the elevator doors started to close she hear a call from the lobby. "Hold the door please!" Haruhi quickly stuck out her foot to catch the door, nearly loosing her balance in the process and her bags on the floor.

A hand grabbed the metal door, pulling it back open. "Sorry about that." The men smiled and Haruhi felt her heart flutter. He was handsome and his smile was so bright. So were his green eyes. "I'm number eight."

She blinked and smiled hoping that she hadn't been starring. "Ok." She pushed the button for the eighth floor and looked down at her shoes as the elevator started up. She shifted a little, her arms started to get tired from carrying her bags.

"Would you like some help with your bags?"

She looked over at him. "Oh, no thanks. I'm almost home anyways." The elevator came to a stop and she stepped out onto her floor without looking back.

He gave her a little wave. "Take care then!"

Once back home she dropped her shopping begs in the kitchen and started putting things away. She realized that she was going to need to go out again. She still had no cups or dishes. She looked down at her watch and realized she wasn't sure when the twins were coming over but maybe they could go out together.

She made herself a sandwich and continued to tidy things up till there was a knock at the door that cased her to jump. She looked through the little peephole in the door to check to see who it was. Seeing lots of orange hair, she opened the door. "Kaoru, how did you get up here?" She looked down the hall. "Isn't Hikaru with you?"

He shook his head. "No, it's just me and someone let me through the front door."

She stepped back and let him in. He had a plain t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans on. His long orange hair was tied back into a ponytail and he had a pair of dark sunglasses on the top of his head. He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Can I get you anything?" She offered.

He rested his arms over the back of the couch and looking into the open kitchen. "It depends what you have to offer."

She looked into the fridge and pulled out a small bottle of ice tea she had just picked up. "Well this is about the best I can do for now. I need to get dishes still." Walking back, she put the bottle onto the coffee table and sat down on the couch a bit down from him. "It's a little unusually for me to see you without Hikaru around." She cracked open her drink and took a small sip.

He did the same and sat sideways on the couch to face her. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about him. So I figured it would be best if he wasn't here."

"You want to talk about Hikaru? Is something wrong?" Haruhi set her drink back down onto the table.

"No, its nothing bad." He paused for a moment. "What do you know of Hikaru's feelings for you during high school?"

"Oh well I…. ummm." She paused at that. She knew that he had liked her. They had even gone out on a date once however she never thought much about it, they were friends after all.

He sighed. "I thought so. I figured that maybe I should talk to you about it since it has been noticed that your are a little dense to anyone's feelings above and beyond friendship."

She didn't know what to say to that. She had, on occasion, mistaken a guys advances for… well nothing. "Are you saying at your brother still has a thing for me?"

He threw his arm along the back of the couch. "Bluntly putting it, he loves you." She felt her cheeks redden. "The problem is that he doesn't know it." Now she was confused.

She blinked and opened her mouth to speak but Kaoru stopped her before she could say anything. "Hear me out. Back before high school, there was no one else in our world. It was just the two of us and even in the Host club we still didn't get very close with the others, but then you came along and before we knew it you had made it into our inner circle." He leaned back, smiling. "It's been great, finally having someone else to trust and depend on. Someone other then ourselves." He took a sip from his drink. "But I noticed Hikaru started to look at you differently, but the problem is, that he didn't notice himself. He didn't understand his own feelings." He smirked. "It's one of the reasons I tricked you two into a date."

"Wait, what? You tricked him into going in your place?"

He shrugged. "He just needed a little help in the right direction." He smiled, shaking his head. "The reason I'm bringing all this up again is because I'm not sure how strong he still feels for you but I do know that if you aren't firm with the guys and their advances that it might cause a lot of problems down the road."

She frowned. "What do you mean?" She had suspected that Hikaru still had some feelings from her but she didn't understand why that would change anything.

"What I'm saying is, I'm worried that the guys might end up fighting over you and that would cause a lot of problems for our group. I'd hate to see our group fall apart."

"Wait a minute." She put up her hands as if to defend herself from the very idea. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, since Tamaki is still in love with you-"

"Now Tamaki is in love with me? When did that happen?"

Kaoru sighed, hanging his head for a moment. He opened and closed his mouth, deciding how best to explain it. He took a sip from his drink and set the empty bottle back onto the table. "Tamaki took your leaving very hard." A sad look crossed Kaoru's face as he remembered a long ago conversation. "It was just after you had left, we were sitting down to tea when he told us. He said he had finally figured it out, that he loved you and now you were gone. He told us that he wasn't going to go after you but wouldn't say why. So he shoved his feelings aside and did his best to move on, but… lets just say what you saw at the club is what he does to make himself feel better. Some drink, but Tamaki goes after girls. I think it's tied to how much he enjoyed making the girls happy during the Host Club days."

She didn't know what to say but if what he was saying was true, then something at the club had upset Tamaki… maybe. It was a bit much to wrap her head around after all this time.

He leaned forward and put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to dump all this on you. I just wanted you to know. If, at any point you decide to be with any one of them, the rest of us will understand, but for now. Don't forget about what I said, but try not to think about it to much."

'_Yeah… right. Now my head hurts_.' She sighed to herself. "Kaoru, want to go out shopping with me?" She needed to clear her head and get some fresh air. Being told that a bunch of your friends are in love with you, is a little much to take in and she didn't want to think about it. She had things to do, shopping to be done and a job to get ready for. Specking of job, she wondered when she would hear something back.

Kaoru stood up and held out a hand for her. "Alright, I don't have to head back for another few hours. I'm sure Hikaru isn't going to notice me missing for a while yet." He winked at her.

"You didn't tell him you were coming over to see me, did you?" She got up and went looking for her bag.

"Well no, then he would have wanted to come along."

She nodded, made sense, they were always together but she knew that even twins needed time away from each other every now and then.

They headed out to the department store to pick out of plates, cups and cutlery. Kaoru pointed out a nice one from time to time, keeping the design simple like her apartment. She passed by the children's section of dishware and paused, looking at a dish covered with silly little cartoon animals. Seeing it brought Tamaki and the group to mind. She glanced over at Kaoru. Out of the group of them, he was defiantly not a troublemaker. If she had brought any of the others with her, they would be pushing her to get all kinds of silly tableware.

"What do you have there?" Kaoru peeked over her shoulder at the brightly coloured dish.

"Nothing. It just reminded me of Tamaki." She put the dish back onto the shelf.

"You should get it for him. I think he will like it." He picked up the plate and found the matching spoon and fork set.

"You're kidding me?" Well she knew he would like it….

He smiled, waving it back and forth a little. "Come on, get it for him and call him up." He placed it into her hands. "After all, I think he's avoiding you." He wondered off towards the cups and glassware.

She looked down at the happy looking cartoon animals and sighed, slipping it into her basket along with the dishes she had picked out.

"Hey, Haruhi, I think these glasses would go good with those dishes."

After Kaoru dropped her off at home, she put away her new dishes. Happy now that she had something to have meals on and a small gift for Tamaki which she put on the counter next to the red roses he had given her as a house-warming gift. She dumped out her purses and found her little pink cell phone. She looked at the phone for a minute, before flipping it open and scrolling through the contact list. She wondered if he might be at home, it was mid-afternoon on a Sunday but she decided calling his cell phone was a safer bet. He might work weekends. That stopped her. She knew little to nothing about what he did with his day or what he even did for work. Come to think of it, he had almost said nothing about his life in the few times she had seen him since her return. Her finger paused over the call button. Maybe he was really avoiding her. She looked over at the cartoon dishes she had picked up for him, now worried that it may have been a bad idea.

She shook herself and pressed the call button.

-oOoOoOoOoOo-

Tamaki rolled over in the sheets, looking out at the bright sky outside the windows. He cast an arm over his head and stared at the ceiling while his cell phone rang next to the bed. It was getting close to dinner, but he didn't feel like getting up. He hadn't been feeling himself lately and he wasn't sure why.

Sighing heavily he picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID. His eyes widened at the name on the display. He quickly flipped the phone open and put it to his ear. "Haruhi?"

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	9. Phone Calls

**Basket of Fruit**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Tamaki rolled over in the sheets, looking out at the bright afternoon sky outside the large windows of his bedroom. He cast an arm over his head and stared at the ceiling while his cell phone rang on his bedside table. It was already past lunch, but he didn't feel like getting up nor eating nor dealing with work. He hadn't been feeling like himself lately and he didn't want to admit to himself why.  
Sighing heavily he picked up the phone, the longer he put it off the worse it would be. Looking at the caller ID his eyes widened at the name on the display. He quickly flipped the phone open before it could go to his voice mail and put it to his ear. "Haruhi?"

"Sorry, I'm not disturbing you, am I?" Asked the unsure voice on the other end.

He smiled sightly, running his free hand over his short blond hair. "No. I wasn't doing anything important."

"Oh, good." She sighed with relief. "I wasn't sure if you might be working or something."

"No, my weekends are usually free. Unless something unexpected comes up, of course." He pushed himself up, resting his bare back against the high white wood of the bed's headboard. He waited for her to continue.

"Oh, well thats good then... I didn't want to be a bother."

He smiled more now. "You never can bother me, Haruhi." His voice slightly husky.

The way he said her name caused her to pause briefly. "I-uh..." She continued a little flustered. "I just wanted to call and make sure that everything was alright. You left kind of quickly yesterday. I was just wondering if something was bothering you."

'_You_.' He thought. Seeing her, being near her did things to him. Things he hadn't felt since she had left and taken part of his heart with her. He had thought he was over her, even if he had never really had her but the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her. He wanted her to himself. Wanted her for whisper his name in the night. He closed his eyes.

"Tamaki?" She called when he didn't answer. "You still there?"

He smiled sadly as he pushed his desires off to the side. "Sorry, Haruhi. Something for work had come up and I had to leave" He lied smoothly.

"Oh." She was relieved. "I guess that kind of thing happens often, huh?"

He leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee, the phone held to his ear with his other arm. "Yes, sorry to make you worry."

In her apartment Haruhi pushed the plate set around on the table with a slim finger, feeling a little unsure where to take the conversation from there. Picking up the gift she put it away with the other dishes. She could give it to him the next time he was over. "Well I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. I'll let you go. Talk to you later, Tamaki."

"Good-bye Haruhi."

She flipped her cell phone close and sat down at the small kitchen table. Kaoru had mentioned that Tamaki I taken her leaving hard. She wanted to ask Tamaki if that had been why he had never visited. Out of everyone in the club, she had expected to see him the most but during her five years there, not once had he come to see her. She admitted to herself a long time ago that she had developed feelings for the blond prince and his absence during those years had hurt. Even now, peeks of his former self seemed to be peeking out from the cracks in this new person. This new Tamaki. "A Tamaki who makes out with random girls in a club..." She sighed.

_Riinngggg~_ Haruhi jumped at the sudden ring of her phone. She frowned at the unknown number on the display and answered the phone. "Hello, Haruhi speaking."

"Miss Fujioka?" Asked a deep male voice from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, this is Haruhi Fujioka." She leaned back in her chair a little.

"Good afternoon, Miss Fujioka. My name is Lee Lawson, from Lawson and Market Law. I'm calling in regard to the resume you submitted."

She sat up even strighter. "Yes?"

"We were very impressed with your resume and your recommendations. If you are still interested, we would like to have you come in tomorrow afternoon for an interview. How does that sound, Miss Fujioka?"

She smiled. "I would be honored, Mr. Lawson." She wrote down the time and address on the back of the flower card from Hunny and Mori's flower vase, having no other paper around and hung up the phone. She smiled at the card, excited and anxious for the interview. She decided she should make the use of what would be her last free afternoon and worked on unpacking more boxes.

-oOoOoOoOoOo-

Mr. Lawson was the co-founder of Lawson and Market Law. An older man of some 50-years, his hair was still thick but graying along with his light beard. He held an air of authority and power that might have had something to do with his size. Under his tailored suit jacket, Haruhi could tell he took care of his body as much as he did his mind. She glanced around at all the certificates framed along the walls. Despite all this, he had a gentle smile. "Miss Fujioka," He held out his hand to firmly shake her smaller one. "may I be the first to welcome you to Lawson and Market Law. I hope you enjoy your time with us."

Haruhi returned the smile. "I'm sure I will."

Sitting back in his large padding chair, Mr. Lawson folded his fingers together. "Seeing as how you have no current job experience, we will start things out with a trial period. During this time we will test your knowledge, skills and resolve." She nodded to show that she understood and he continued. "We tend to do things a little differently around here. Our lawyers are fighters! We want to make sure you have the right edge. That drive to win." He leaned forward. "Before we feed you to the sharks, we will make sure you are ready to handle them." He leaned back then, his lips pressed in a thin line. "However if we determine that you are not cut out for this, we will have to ask you to leave."

Haruhi licked her lips. She had expected this. She knew being a lawyer wasn't going to be a cake-walk. She needed to be tough and stand on her own. She could do it.  
Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Mr. Lawson smiled. "Good. I think you'll do well here. Now to start you off..."

She was to start the following morning. She would spend a week shadowing the other lawyers within the firm. Each would share with her a previous case file from their records for her to review. She was then to present how she would go about defending her "client". Mr. Lawson warned her that some of the files had been tampered with and that she was to note down any discrepancies she found. She was also to sit in on any court trials her shadowee might have that day.

She opened her apartment door and dropped her keys into the small ceramic bowl on the table in the front hall. "I'm home." She called out to the empty apartment as she took off her shoes. Making her way into the kitchen she got to work making dinner for herself.

She hummed in the quite apartment as she chopped some vegetables while waiting for the rice to be done. It didn't take long and soon her simple dinner was ready. Still excited over her new job, she picked up her bowl and sat down at her small kitchen table to eat. She shoved the last bit of her dinner into her mouth and decided she should call her dad to let him know the good news. Putting her empty dish on the counter next to the sink. Leaning against the counter, she brought her phone up to her ear, patiently listening to the ringing tone.

"You've reached the Fujioka residence. Please leave a message." Her own voice greeted her as the answering machine picked up. Her dad must still be at work. He really needed to change the message of the answering machine, but he thought it was cute and didn't want to change it. She sighed.

"Hi Dad." She started her message when the phone beeped. "I just wanted to let you know that I got a job at Lawson and Market Law. They have me starting tomorrow." She paused, unsure what else to add to her message. "Love you, Dad. Take care and get lots of rest." She flipped her phone closed and rolled it around on her hand. She glanced around the apartment for something to do and set her sights on cleaning the remaining dishes from dinner and preparing a lunch for tomorrow.

The dishes put away and the kitchen clean, she walked around the apartment only to find herself in the bedroom. She soon set to work unpacking the remaining items of cloth sitting in the last few boxes left in the corner of her bedroom. It didn't take long however as she finished folding the last of her shirts, closing the sliding draw beneath her bed. Getting up, she dusted off her pants and started to breakdown and gather the now empty boxes. Her shoes on and keys in hand, Haruhi grabbed the now bundled cardboard and a bag of garbage and headed to the dumpster.

Haruhi closed the door to the garbage room behind her and paused on her way past the wall of mail boxes towards the elevator. Glancing down at her the keys in her hand, she noticed a single smaller key among the other larger house keys.

She didn't expect to have any mail just yet. She had only moved in after all but it wouldn't hurt to see if there were any flyers or coupons that she might be able to use. Finding her small mailbox to the far right of the wall, Haruhi crouched down to turn the key in the small lock. Inside was a small handful of flyers and a magazine on show cars that must belong to a previous owner.

She saw no one else on her trip back to her apartment. Dropping the mail down onto her coffee table, Haruhi dropped onto the couch in front of it and checked the time on her phone. "Only after seven?" She sighed, wondering what else she could do with her time on a Monday night. Nothing came to mind. The apartment was clean, dishes done and her things were all put away. She relieved with a start that this was the first time since she could recall that she had any true free time. There was no more studying to be done, no shopping or cleaning she needed to do and she had everything she needed prepared for her new job tomorrow. She had nothing to do.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." She glanced down at the phone sitting next to her on the couch. She had never sought out the Host Club before. They had always just shown up. Keeping her on her toes and never letting her have a spare moment to herself. Even when she was in university, she had her roommates and her studies to keep her busy but as she looked around the empty apartment, she wasn't sure what else to do.

Her phone in hand, she was left with a decision she didn't know how to make. Who should she call first?

She flipped open the phone and started to scroll through the contacts. All of the host club members phone numbers were in it, from there home, cell to work numbers. She had even added in the phone number to her new job while she had been on her way home. She glanced at the contact above it and selected dial.

"Haruhi." The voice on the other end purred, holding a slight note of amusement to it. "I was just thinking about you. How did the interview go?" He asked.

She didn't bother to ask how he had known. Kyouya always seemed to know everything that went on. Very little got past him. "Well, I got the job." She announced happily, leaning back on the couch.

"As expected of our brilliant Haruhi."

She blushed lightly at the comment. "Well we will see how things work out. I think I will enjoy it though. They are even going to start giving me my own cases in a few weeks."

"Well I wish you all the best in this new endeavor. If there is anything you need, please feel free to ask." He assured.

She shook her head but realized he couldn't see the gesture. "No, you've done more then enough already, Kyouya. I want to do this on my own."

A low chuckle reached her ear from the other side of the line. "Same old Haruhi, never accepting anyone's help."

She wondered briefly what he was currently doing and pictured him sitting behind a desk somewhere with his laptop in front of him, working late as always. "... I'm not disturbing you, are I?" She asked meekly having realized she might have interrupted him at work. It wasn't that late after all and Kyouya aways worked into the early hours of the morning.

Sitting in his apartment, he leaned forward in his armchair. His tie hung loosly around his neck and several of the topmost buttons on his dress shirt at been unbuttoned. He moved his laptop computer from on top of his legs to the table in front of him and dropped his feet back to the floor. "No, not from anything important."

"I'm sorry! I wasn't sure if you might be working late or not but I just wanted to let you know that I got the job. I'll let you get back to work. Sorry for bugging you. Take care of yourself and try not to work too hard. Goodnight, Kyouya."

The phone beeped in his ear before he was even able to say goodnight or even insist that she had not interrupted anything important. He glanced over that the figures and data displayed on his laptop's screen and took his glasses off. Dropping them onto the table, he leaned back and punched the bridge of his nose as he fought to calm down the headache threatening to startup. Eyes closed, his phone still open in his hand, he waited for the ache to subside.

He had been going over the sales figures for a new project when he got her call. Even though he had known about the job already he had been hoping to hear from her how the interview had gone. He had wanted to hear the excitement in her voice when she told him she had gotten the job. She dream job. He turned his head to the side and glanced across the empty and quite apartment.

Pushing himself out of the chair he walked over to the large window that overlooked the city. He leaned his forehead against the cool glass and looked down at the blurry lights below. He felt the need to see her smile and pushed himself back from the window. Stocking back across the room he snatched his glasses off the table and put them back in their rightful place and glared at his laptop.

A frustration rose up in him as the darkness inside broke out from under his careful control. With a swift motion he knocked the computer to the floor, shattering the screen and turned to get a drink.

-oOoOoOo-

Haruhi turned the phone over in her hands a few times, a habit she had picked up during her time over seas. She didn't feel like calling the others now. She might disturb them also and she didn't want to be a bother. Didn't want to burden them. Haruhi opted to send them all the group email and left her phone on the coffee table as she went to take a shower.

Her long dark hair wrapped up in a fluffy green towel she had found in the bathroom, she slipped on her pjs and moved back towards the living room. She had taken her time in the shower but it still wasn't enough and now it was barley eight o'clock. Dropping back down onto the couch she picked up the remote from the table to find something on tv. Haruhi clicked around a few channels till she found the news. It had been a while since she had been back in Japan, she might as well use her free time to catch up. It might even help her with her new job.

Her phone beep to let her know that there was a message waiting. She smiled as she read over the replies from the other hosts.

"Congrats, Haru-chan! =^-^= Takashi and I wish you the best! We should have cake to celebrate!" - Hunny.

"That's wonderful news, my dearest Haruhi. Happy to hear you are finally reaching your dream!" - Tamaki.

"I think this calls for a celebration! We should go out and get some drinks!" - Kaoru/Hikaru.

She pulled her legs up to her chest on the couch and glanced up at the TV. The news reporter was talking about the various stocks and financial workings of many of Japan's larger corporations. Behind him their stock numbers were displayed on the back wall with small red or green arrows to show profits and looses. Haruhi noticed the name Ootori pass across the screen and smirked to herself seeing the small green arrow.

* * *

Sorry for the long delay! I have reposted all previous chapters, its worth a re-read for those following the story. **Please R&R**


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